Communication deficits in babies and infants with autism and pervasive developmental disorder–not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS)

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate if, and in what ways, communication impairments are present in toddlers (17-37 months) diagnosed with autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). METHODS: Study 1-The scores of 20 toddlers with autism or PDD-NOS (i.e. ASD group) were compared to those of 20 typically-developing infants on the Communication sub-scale of the Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits (BISCUIT)-Part 1. Study 2-These same scores were compared between 660 toddlers who fell into three groups: autism, PDD-NOS and non-ASD-related developmentally delayed. RESULTS: Infants with an ASD exhibited greater communication impairments than did typically-developing infants overall and on all items. Additionally, significant differences were found in overall communication impairments and the majority of individual items between all three groups in Study 2. CONCLUSIONS: Significant communication impairments are present in toddlers diagnosed with autism and PDD-NOS before 37 months.