Innovative Investigations of Language in Autism Spectrum Disorder
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In recent decades, a growing number of children have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a condition characterized by social interaction deficits and language impairment. Yet the precise nature of the disorder's impact on language development is not well understood, in part because of the language variability among children across the autism spectrum.
In this volume, experts in communication disorders, developmental and clinical psychology, and linguistics use innovative techniques to address two broad questions:
- Is the variability of language development and use in children with ASD a function of the language, such that some linguistic domains are more vulnerable to ASD than others?
- Or is the variability a function of the individual, such that some characteristics predispose those with ASD to have varying levels of difficulty with language development and use?
Contributors investigate these questions across linguistic levels, from lexical semantics and single-clause syntax, to computationally complex phonology and the syntax–pragmatics interface. Authors address both spoken and written domains within the wider context of language acquisition.
This timely and broadly accessible volume will be of interest to a wide range of specialists, including linguists, psychologists, sociologists, behavioral neurologists, and cognitive neuroscientists.
Contributors
Foreword
Helen Tager-Flusberg
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Perspectives on Language in ASD
Letitia R. Naigles
- Eye-Tracking as a Window on Language Processing in ASD
Courtenay Frazier Norbury - Sentence Processing in Young Children With ASD
Edith L. Bavin and Emma K. Baker - Looking Through Their Eyes: Tracking Early Language Comprehension in ASD
Letitia R. Naigles and Deborah Fein - Learning Words in a Social World: Impairments Associated With ASD and Fragile X Syndrome
Andrea McDuffie, Angela John Thurman, Marie Moore Channell, and Leonard Abbeduto - Parental Input to Children With ASD and Its Influence on Later Language
Aparna Nadig and Janet Bang - The Effect of Computational Complexity on the Acquisition of French by Children With ASD
Laurice Tuller, Sandrine Ferré, Philippe Prévost, Marie-Anne Barthez, Joëlle Malvy, and Frédérique Bonnet-Brilhault - Advanced Syntax and Primary Pragmatics in Children With ASD
Vikki Janke and Alexandra Perovic - Connections Among Complementation Sentences, Executive Functioning, and Theory of Mind in Autism
Stephanie Durrleman-Tame, Morgane Burnel, and Anne Reboul - Language Acquisition in ASD: Beyond Standardized Language Measures
Inge-Marie Eigsti and Jillian M. Schuh - Recall, Structure, and Complexity in Story Retellings by Children With ASD
Lesley Stirling, Graham Barrington, Susan Douglas, and Kerrie Delves - Language Representation and Language Use in Children With Optimal Outcomes From ASD
Joyce Suh, Inge-Marie Eigsti, Allison Canfield, Christina Irvine, Elizabeth Kelley, Letitia R. Naigles, and Deborah Fein
Index
About the Editor
Letitia R. Naigles, PhD, is a professor of psychological sciences at the University of Connecticut.
After earning her PhD in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, she taught at Yale University for 10 years. She has held visiting professor positions at Koç University in Istanbul, Turkey, and at the MIND Institute at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Naigles became a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science in 2009.
At UConn, she is currently head of the Developmental Division in Psychological Sciences, founding head of the university-wide Kids In Developmental Science research and recruitment consortium, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Cognitive Science Program.
She has conducted research on language acquisition with children learning a variety of languages, including English, French, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Turkish, Japanese, German, Hindi, and Korean, and has been engaged for the past 15 years in an intensive longitudinal investigation of the language development of children with autism spectrum disorder. Her research has been funded by grants from NIH (FIRST, DCD, and CHD), NIMH, NSF, and NAAR.
Dr. Naigles is the coauthor of an SRCD Monograph (2009: Flexibility in Early Verb Use), and coeditor of the Cambridge Handbook of Child Language, (2nd ed., 2015).
A useful primer for clinicians — beginning and seasoned, as well as educators. It fully addresses a highly disputed topic in contemporary psychology.
—New England Psychologist
This book addresses major questions related to language competence and performance in individuals with ASD. Looking at both typical and atypical development, the research herein sets the stage for future studies and will open the door to important collaborations across fields.
—Joshua John Diehl, PhD
Chief Strategy Officer for Autism Services, LOGAN Community Resources, Inc., South Bend, IN; Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
Using clever methodologies and sophisticated controls, this work will inspire a new generation of researchers in this radically changing landscape.
—Jill de Villiers, PhD
Smith College, Northampton, MA
Naigles and her colleagues present international, state-of-the-art research and theory about language development in children with ASD. This book is especially timely given the significant advances in ASD made over the past decade, including the revision of the diagnostic criteria.
—Virginia Slaughter, PhD
Professor and Head of School, School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
This is one of a very few academic volumes that I would call exhilarating. Naigles's collection meets, and even exceeds, the promise of its title with its comprehensive and cutting-edge coverage of language development in persons with ASD. With contributions from researchers with varied perspectives and technologies, this is an essential resource for those who work with persons with ASD.
—Jacob A. (Jake) Burack, PhD
Professor, School/Applied Child Psychology and Human Development, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
