Afnan A AlMarshedi, Marwah Ahmad Behisi, Hussain Mohammed Al-Taweel, Tamer Mohammed Albasuony, Saad Mohammed Almuqrin, Samah Hazem Alkhawashki, Aqeel Talal Alkhiri, Saleh Mohammed Alsalehi, Fatimah Abdulrahman Alhaidar, Yasser Ad-Dab'bagh, Elizabeth Ann Laugeson
{"title":"Feasibility and Preliminary Effectiveness of the Arabic Version of the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (Peers-AA) for Autistic Adolescents in Saudi Arabia.","authors":"Afnan A AlMarshedi, Marwah Ahmad Behisi, Hussain Mohammed Al-Taweel, Tamer Mohammed Albasuony, Saad Mohammed Almuqrin, Samah Hazem Alkhawashki, Aqeel Talal Alkhiri, Saleh Mohammed Alsalehi, Fatimah Abdulrahman Alhaidar, Yasser Ad-Dab'bagh, Elizabeth Ann Laugeson","doi":"10.1177/23969415251371547","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415251371547","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by significant deficits in social skills that impact youths' academic, adaptive, and psychological functioning. Social skills deficits are imperative targets for interventions. This pilot study explored the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of the translated and culturally adapted Arabic version of the UCLA PEERS<sup>®</sup> among autistic adolescents (ages 11-17) in Saudi Arabia. The study utilized a quasi-experimental design, collected pre-, post-, and three-month follow-up data, and used focus group discussion and a prospective cohort study with pre- and postintervention assessments. Feasibility was assessed based on subjective methods: recruitment, retention, attendance rate, comprehension of the translated material, and homework completion. Effectiveness was evaluated based on postintervention and three-month follow-up interval changes in scores on three outcome measures: the Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition, Child Behavior Checklist, QSQ, and Test of Adolescent Social Skills Knowledge. Written informed consent was obtained from caregivers, and oral assent was obtained from the study participants. These initial findings support the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of the PEERS-AA. The outcomes suggested significant improvement in the subjects' social skills and knowledge of social etiquette, as reported by the adolescents and their parents, with improvements retained at the three-month follow-up. However, there was no reported improvement in the number of get-togethers, which was likely explained by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and culture-related considerations. This study represents the first cross-cultural validation trial of an established evidence-based social skills intervention for autistic adolescents in an Arabic-speaking country. The PEERS-AA manual's feasibility and preliminary effectiveness indicate its promising applicability for interventions and research. Further research to evaluate the generalizability and long-term effectiveness of the PEERS-AA program is needed.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"10 ","pages":"23969415251371547"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12475337/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145186993","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reading Comprehension Challenges in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Linguistic Factors and Figurative Language Proficiency.","authors":"George Kritsotakis, Eleni Morfidi","doi":"10.1177/23969415251371544","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415251371544","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aims: </strong>Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) without intellectual disability often face challenges in understanding written text. However, considerable variability in this area underscores the need to examine their reading profiles and the factors influencing the development of reading comprehension (RC). This study investigates the RC of upper elementary school children with ASD compared to typically developing (TD) peers and explores the role of broader linguistic abilities in RC, with a specific focus on pragmatic competence (e.g., figurative language comprehension). Nonlinguistic factors such as age and nonverbal cognitive capacity are also considered. A secondary aim is to assess the potential heterogeneity in RC and linguistic abilities within the ASD sample.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In total, 35 children with ASD and 35 TD controls (mean age = 10.7 years, SD = 0.97) were matched for age, gender, and nonverbal cognitive ability using Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices. Both groups completed assessments of RC, structural language skills (receptive vocabulary and morphosyntax), and figurative language competence. To evaluate variability, the ASD group was divided into two subgroups based on RC performance.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Participants with ASD scored significantly lower than their TD peers in RC, morphosyntactic skills, and figurative language comprehension, but no significant differences were observed in receptive vocabulary. For children with ASD, chronological age, nonverbal cognitive ability, and receptive vocabulary accounted for significant variance in RC. In contrast, RC in TD children was predicted by morphosyntactic ability and figurative competence. Furthermore, the substantial heterogeneity within the ASD group was evident, highlighting their variability across the range of examined variables.</p><p><strong>Conclusions and implications: </strong>The findings indicate that children with ASD as a group experience notable difficulties in text comprehension and language processing at the morphosyntactic and pragmatic levels, despite achieving receptive vocabulary and nonverbal cognitive scores comparable to those of their TD peers. The two groups appear to employ distinct strategies for deriving meaning from text. The pronounced variability in RC and linguistic abilities among ASD participants underscores the complexity of their reading and language profiles, highlighting the importance of tailored educational assessments and interventions, which are further discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"10 ","pages":"23969415251371544"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12449652/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145114409","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Rigidity in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A Unified (Evolutionary) Account of Salient Linguistic and Non-Linguistic Characteristics.","authors":"Ljiljana Progovac, Antonio Benítez-Burraco","doi":"10.1177/23969415251379995","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415251379995","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) typically exhibits stereotyped or repetitive behavior that can be described as rigid, but also certain characteristics in the domain of language that can equally be characterized as rigid. These include heightened, enhanced sensitivity to the rules of grammar (morpho-syntax), often resulting in hyper-systemizing, as well as rigidity interpreting metaphorical, non-literal language. Human cognition and behavior (including language) believably resulted from an intense feedback loop between an increase in cognitive flexibility (primarily through a gradual emergence and complexification of language/grammar) and a reduction in reactive aggression and impulsivity (this resulting in more prosocial behaviors). Neurobiologically, this feedback loop contributed to a relatively recent evolution of denser connectivity between some cortical structures and the striatum, which is found affected in ASD. In this paper, we propose that the seemingly disparate features of ASD, including linguistic and behavioral rigidity, result from a common cause: an enhanced striatal function, linked to a reduced control of the striatum by selected cortical structures. The striatum is associated with both impulsiveness (including reactive aggression) and with automated, rigid, ritualized responses. Our proposal is specific enough that it can be experimentally tested, with implications for clinical approaches to autism.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"10 ","pages":"23969415251379995"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12441262/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145087634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Profiling Language Skills in Minimally Verbal Autism: Findings From Greek-Speaking Preschoolers.","authors":"Eleni Peristeri, Maria Andreou","doi":"10.1177/23969415251371550","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415251371550","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aims: </strong>Minimally verbal (MV) autistic children constitute a considerable portion of the autism spectrum, representing approximately one-third of the autistic individuals. Despite the urgency of understanding this population, relatively few studies have focused specifically on the language abilities of MV autistic children. This study aims to examine the language abilities of Greek-speaking preschool-aged MV children with autism prior to intervention. Specifically, we sought to identify the children's strengths and weaknesses across various language systems (receptive, expressive, and organizational) and modalities (phonological, semantic, and morphosyntactic), and also assess the influence of nonverbal intelligence (performance intelligence quotient [PIQ]) and age on their language performance.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Twenty-six MV autistic preschoolers (mean age = 5;3) from Greece participated in the study. They were assessed using Level I of the LaTo tool, a standardized battery for evaluating language in young Greek-speaking children. The tool comprises 10 subtests covering expressive, receptive, and organizational language within the phonological, semantic, and morphosyntactic modality. Standard scores were compared across language systems (receptive, expressive, and organizational) and modalities (phonological, semantic, and morphosyntactic). Linear regression models were also used to evaluate the influence of age and PIQ on the children's language performance.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The children showed widespread difficulties across language systems and modalities. Performance was particularly low in expressive language and phonological awareness tests; however, MV children showed relatively better performance in receptive and organizational language, especially in tests that utilized visual support cues. Notably, performance in organizational language tests significantly exceeded performance in both expressive and receptive language tests. Regression analyses indicated a significant negative association between age and language performance across most domains, suggesting an age-related decline in the children's language abilities. No significant relationship was found between PIQ and language outcomes, indicating that nonverbal intelligence did not predict linguistic performance.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The study confirms that MV autistic children experience substantial but non-uniform language difficulties. While expressive and phonological skills were severely compromised, receptive and organizational language skills showed relative strengths, particularly when tests incorporated nonlinguistic knowledge and visual scaffolding. The negative effect of age on language performance underscores the risk of language deterioration over time for the specific population, while the lack of correlation between language performance and PIQ suggests that linguistic ability in MV autistic c","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"10 ","pages":"23969415251371550"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12378320/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144972673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Power of Two: Exploring the Impact of Mothers' and Fathers' Involvement in Speech-Language Pathology Treatment for Children with Autism.","authors":"Noa Kreiser, Osnat Segal","doi":"10.1177/23969415251355462","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415251355462","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This study aimed to investigate the impact of fathers' and mothers' involvement in treatments by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) on parent-child communication, play, and feelings of caregiver emotional load in families with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data from 51 families, including 51 fathers and 51 mothers, were analyzed, focusing on measures of involvement in treatments, parent-child play, parent-child communication experience, the child's communication skills, and feelings of caregiver emotional load. Pearson correlations were conducted to explore associations between parental involvement, child variables, and parental factors. Path analysis was employed to delineate the relationships between parental involvement and treatment outcomes.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Mothers exhibited significantly higher scores in involvement in treatments and feelings of caregiver emotional load compared to fathers, while no significant difference was found in parent-child communication experience. Both fathers and mothers demonstrated direct association between involvement in treatment, enhanced play and better communication experience with their children. Only fathers demonstrated direct associations between involvement in treatment and reduced caregiver emotional load, as well as improved communication skills in their children. The involvement of fathers in treatment mediated the association between paternal education level and the child's gender to treatment outcomes. Communication experience with the child was negatively associated with parental feelings of emotional load.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Active involvement by both parents is important for supporting parent-child play and communication. Fathers, in particular, experience benefits from involvement in treatments by SLPs, including decreased feelings of emotional load. These findings underscore the significance of considering demographic factors such as parental gender, education level, and the child's gender when designing SLP treatments for children with ASD and guiding their parents.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"10 ","pages":"23969415251355462"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12317241/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144776395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Communicative Skills Assessment Scale: Contributions to the Validation of Autism Spectrum Disorder.","authors":"Diana Oliveira, Marisa Lousada, Daniela Figueiredo","doi":"10.1177/23969415251362626","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415251362626","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aims: </strong>Speech-language pathologists actively participate in the assessment of pragmatics in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, in Portugal, there is a shortage of valid and reliable instruments to assess this domain in detail. Therefore, it was deemed relevant to help validate the <i>Escala de Avaliação de Competências Comunicativas</i> (EAC) (Communicative Skills Assessment Scale) in this population.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional, descriptive correlational study was conducted. The sample included 97 children, aged between 4 and 7 years and 11 months, diagnosed with ASD with European Portuguese as their native language. As an exclusion criterion, the co-occurrence of intellectual developmental disorder was defined. The internal consistency of the EAC was analyzed through the calculation of Cronbach's alpha and test-retest reliability through the calculation of the intraclass correlation coefficient. Convergent validity was also analyzed using Spearman's correlation coefficient.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The EAC presented a high internal consistency value, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.956. The test-retest reliability analysis (n = 27) revealed good stability in the participants' responses at both assessment moments, with ICC values varying between 0.642 and 0.842. In the study of convergent validity, statistically significant correlations were observed between the EAC total score and the two scales of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire-Portuguese Version (SDQ-Por): relationship problems with colleagues (r<sub>s</sub> = -0.273; <i>p</i> < .01) and prosocial behavior (r<sub>s</sub> = 0.606; <i>p</i> < .01).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The EAC presents good reliability and validity for children with ASD, suggesting its adequacy as a research and clinical tool for testing pragmatics within this population.</p><p><strong>Implications: </strong>This study will improve clinical decision making regarding ASD and guide future research.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"10 ","pages":"23969415251362626"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12304631/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144745297","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Charlotte Dumont, Emma Peri, Arnaud Destrebecqz, Mikhail Kissine
{"title":"To What Extent Can Statistical Learning Explain Language Profiles in Autism? Methodological and Theoretical Challenges.","authors":"Charlotte Dumont, Emma Peri, Arnaud Destrebecqz, Mikhail Kissine","doi":"10.1177/23969415251347878","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415251347878","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aims: </strong>Language development in autism varies widely, from fluently verbal to minimally verbal individuals, with socio-communicative difficulties often cited as key explanatory factors. Statistical learning (SL)-the ability to detect regularities in language-has also emerged as a potential contributor to language acquisition in autism. However, SL research in autism has predominantly focused on verbally fluent individuals, leaving non- and minimally verbal populations underexplored. This study aimed to examine the predictive roles of joint attention and statistical learning, specifically nonadjacent dependency learning, on expressive vocabulary and morphosyntactic outcomes in autistic children.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Participants included 40 autistic children aged 5-8 years with diverse linguistic profiles, ranging from verbally fluent to minimally verbal, and 40 non-autistic children. Joint attention was assessed during a semi-structured play protocol, which also provided naturalistic language samples for analysis. Measures of expressive vocabulary and morphosyntax were derived from the number of different words and verb flexions produced, respectively. Sensitivity to nonadjacent dependencies was evaluated through an artificial language learning task.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Neither joint attention nor sensitivity to nonadjacent dependencies predicted expressive vocabulary or morphosyntactic skills in autistic children. Response to joint attention scores were significantly lower in autistic children than in non-autistic children but higher than in previous research. This may be due to the less structured and, therefore, more ecologically valid context in which joint attention was assessed (free play), in conjunction with age and maturation factors. Regarding the SL task, both autistic and non-autistic children demonstrated sensitivity to nonadjacent dependencies. Most interestingly perhaps, only 15 autistic children completed the SL task, with non-verbal cognitive abilities significantly predicting task completion.</p><p><strong>Conclusions and implications: </strong>This study highlights the complexity of investigating the role of statistical learning in language development in autism. It underscores the limitations of behavioral SL paradigms for minimally verbal children. Future research should prioritize developing more ecologically valid and accessible paradigms to accurately assess statistical learning in minimally verbal children, thereby clarifying the role SL may play in language acquisition in autism.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"10 ","pages":"23969415251347878"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12276524/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144676051","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Lived Experiences of Autistic Mothers: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis of Qualitative Evidence.","authors":"Deanne Christie Lockington, Fiona Gullon-Scott","doi":"10.1177/23969415251343850","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415251343850","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Increasingly, research has explored autistic mothers' experiences of motherhood. However, understanding is largely based on single studies. Existing syntheses of qualitative and quantitative research are highly specific, focusing on pregnancy, sensory, infant feeding, and perinatal periods. Thus, a review taking a broader perspective which encapsulates autistic mothers' experiences beyond early motherhood is warranted.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>To systematically identify, appraise, and synthesize existing qualitative research on autistic mothers' experiences of motherhood to enrich understanding, and guide future research and practice.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic review following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), and a qualitative synthesis of extant peer-reviewed qualitative studies and grey literature sources using Thomas and Harden Thematic Synthesis. Methodological rigor was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Three themes representing the collective experiences and perspectives of 629 autistic mothers from 23 primary studies were developed: \"The Embodied Autistic Experience of Motherhood,\" \"Navigating the Non-Autistic World as an 'Other' Mother\" and \"Recalibrating Identities.\"</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Autistic mothers report having unique autistic strengths and prioritizing their children. However, their experiences of motherhood are largely colored by autism-specific and identity-related challenges, and adverse experiences related to systemic, structural, and societal othering, specifically, from feeling policed, pathologized and overpowered by professionals. This translates into an increased prevalence of psychological difficulties and need for support. Further research, professional training, systemic changes, and societal awareness are urgently needed to inform understanding and support.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"10 ","pages":"23969415251343850"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12246537/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144627358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Melanie Heyworth, Catherine McMahon, Diana Weiting Tan, Elizabeth Pellicano
{"title":"\"There is Nowhere Else That I'd Rather be Than with Them\": Parents' Positive Experiences Parenting Autistic Children.","authors":"Melanie Heyworth, Catherine McMahon, Diana Weiting Tan, Elizabeth Pellicano","doi":"10.1177/23969415251357222","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415251357222","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aims: </strong>A significant body of research focuses on the negative outcomes of parenting Autistic children, particularly when parents identify as non-Autistic. Less attention has been paid to the experiences of Autistic parents of Autistic children, and even less to the positive or fulfilling elements of parenting Autistic children, regardless of parent neurotype. This study therefore asked: What do parents value about their Autistic children, and what characterizes parents' positive relationships with their Autistic children?</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Here, 40 Autistic and 40 non-Autistic parents completed semistructured interviews to understand better their positive experiences of parenting Autistic children. We analyzed participant responses using reflexive thematic analysis, using an inductive approach.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We identified five themes: parenting is both challenging and enjoyable and \"there's the good and the bad and the highs and the lows\" (theme 1); parents value time with their Autistic children and \"there is nowhere else that I'd rather be than with them\" (theme 2); parents value their Autistic child's personality and \"just love watching her be who she is\" (theme 3); parenting Autistic children is fulfilling and \"I know I must be doing something right\" (theme 4); and collaboration, learning, and acceptance are key to parenting fulfillment so that \"I wouldn't have it any other way\" (theme 5). Overall, parents told us that parenting could be complex and challenging, and that they had good and bad days. But many parents felt happy to parent their Autistic child, and they enjoyed laughing and doing things together with their child. Parents often really liked their Autistic child, who they thought was caring, funny, and interesting, and they described enjoying their child's company, speaking about the qualities and characteristics they valued in their Autistic child. Some parents felt happy when their child needed them. They liked it when they could help their child and make their child feel safe. This made them feel like they were doing a good job as parent. Parents discussed the personal positive impact of experiencing feelings of self-efficacy and the role of Autistic children in their personal growth. Finally, parents thought that it was important to accept their child and that their life would be different than what they imagined. They reflected on the role of acceptance and flexibility in their experiences of joy and fulfillment.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We show that both Autistic and non-Autistic parents of Autistic children have positive, joyful, and valuable parenting experiences. Our findings have far-reaching implications, including how researchers and practitioners conceptualize parenting Autistic children, and the ways in which parents can be supported to foster such experiences.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"10 ","pages":"23969415251357222"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12284749/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144699752","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pamela Filiatrault-Veilleux, Julia Pichonsky, Chantal Desmarais
{"title":"Receptive Vocabulary, Phonological Short-Term Memory, Theory of Mind and Oral Inferential Comprehension in French-Speaking Preschoolers With and Without Developmental Language Disorder.","authors":"Pamela Filiatrault-Veilleux, Julia Pichonsky, Chantal Desmarais","doi":"10.1177/23969415251353154","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415251353154","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aims: </strong>Inferential comprehension difficulties and their impacts on reading comprehension are well documented in school-aged children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). In comparison, fewer studies have been conducted in young children with DLD prior to their formal schooling journey. In addition, the contribution of linguistic and cognitive skills to oral inferential comprehension abilities in preschoolers, notably receptive vocabulary, phonological short-term memory, and theory of mind (ToM), requires further investigation. The first aim of this study is to explore how young children presenting with DLD aged 5 to 6 years perform when compared to same-age and younger children presenting with typical language development (TLD) on measures of oral inferential comprehension, receptive vocabulary, ToM, and phonological short-term memory. The second aim is to analyze how these linguistic and cognitive skills contribute to oral inferential comprehension in both DLD and TLD preschool children.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 112 preschool children participated in this study, including 21 (<i>n</i> = 21) children with DLD aged 5 to 6 years and two TLD groups, 37 (<i>n</i> = 37) younger children aged 4 to 5 years and 54 (<i>n</i> = 54) same-age children. A narrative-based oral inferential comprehension task was administered to all children, in addition to measures of receptive vocabulary, phonological short-term memory, and ToM. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVAs) were used to compare performances between the three groups, followed by Pearson correlations and hierarchical regression analyses to examine the contribution of these variables to oral inferential comprehension abilities across the sample.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>After controlling for level of parental education (LPE) and biological sex, children with DLD performed significantly below the same-age TLD group on all four measures with large effect sizes (<i>p</i> < .001; <i>η</i> <sup>2</sup> = .17-.44). Their performance was comparable to the younger TLD group on measure of oral inferential comprehension (<i>p</i> = .234), and significantly below on measures of receptive vocabulary (<i>p</i> = .008), phonological short-term memory (<i>p</i> < .001), and ToM (<i>p</i> = .028). Results from the regression analysis indicated that age, LPE, diagnosis condition, receptive vocabulary and ToM accounted for 53% of the total variance in oral inferential comprehension.</p><p><strong>Conclusions and implications: </strong>This study reiterates the early listening comprehension difficulties experienced by preschool children with DLD when compared to children presenting with typical language development. The results also indicate that when controlling for age, LPE and diagnosis condition, children are likely to have better inferential comprehension abilities if they perform well on a measure of ToM. Considering that challenges related to language comp","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"10 ","pages":"23969415251353154"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12182632/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144369349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}