Vocal patterns in infants with autism spectrum disorder: canonical babbling status and vocalization frequency.
Canonical babbling is a critical milestone for speech development and is usually well in place by 10 months. The possibility that infants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show late onset of canonical babbling has so far eluded evaluation. Rate of vocalization or "volubility" has also been suggested as possibly aberrant in infants with ASD. We conducted a retrospective video study examining vocalizations of 37 infants at 9-12 and 15-18 months. Twenty-three of the 37 infants were later diagnosed with ASD and indeed produced low rates of canonical babbling and low volubility by comparison with the 14 typically developing infants. The study thus supports suggestions that very early vocal patterns may prove to be a useful component of early screening and diagnosis of ASD.
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, 300 Ferguson Building, Greensboro, NC, 27402-6170, USA, e_patten@uncg.edu.
Elena
E
Patten
Katie
K
Belardi
Grace T
GT
Baranek
Linda R
LR
Watson
Jeffrey D
JD
Labban
D Kimbrough
DK
Oller
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology*; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014743:Videotape Recording