Autism and Developmental Language Impairments最新文献

{"title":"\"I need them for my autism, but I don't know why\": Exploring the friendship experiences of autistic children in UK primary schools.","authors":"Laura Fox, Kathryn Asbury","doi":"10.1177/23969415241275934","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415241275934","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aims: </strong>Autistic children can experience challenges in making and maintaining friendships, and middle childhood (ages 6-12) may be particularly challenging as social networks become more complex. However, a large proportion of research into these experiences is based on adult reports or focuses on the experiences of adolescents, meaning that the voices of younger children are absent. Due to the exclusion of younger children from research, we have a limited understanding of their first-hand experiences of their friendships and the support they receive, which has implications for friendship support and wellbeing. This study aimed to amplify the voices of younger autistic children to explore their first-hand experiences of friendships and highlight areas of social support which may be most beneficial to primary-aged autistic children.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study used novel creative methods to support interviews with 19 autistic primary school-aged children to explore their experiences of friendship. Parent-led interviews and scrapbooks supported the children in discussing the challenges and strengths of their friendships.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Children discussed the challenges and strengths of their friendships including the impact of social norms on the need to have friends and their support needs in this area of life. Children also discussed gaps in their current friendships and how they would like to see these filled. It was clear that not all children required or wanted neurotypical-style friendships, with many valuing companionship and gameplay over intimacy. Analysis highlighted the heterogeneity of autistic children's friendships, especially in relation to gender and age, calling for more tailored and individualized support.</p><p><strong>Conclusion and implications: </strong>Results from the current study show that autistic children can and do have successful friendships but that these friendships may differ from those of their non-autistic peers. The study further adds to the existing literature by showing that younger autistic children can be included in research by using differentiated, accessible and creative methods, and that they are able to voice their opinions on matters surrounding support. It also calls for a tailored approach to supporting autistic children in school and speaking with children to give them autonomy over the support they want to receive.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"9 ","pages":"23969415241275934"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11378229/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142156241","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":"Word learning by children with developmental language disorder: Identifying gaps in our understanding of spaced retrieval effects.","authors":"Laurence B Leonard, Patricia Deevy, Justin B Kueser","doi":"10.1177/23969415241275940","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415241275940","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aims: </strong>Current evidence shows that children with developmental language disorder (DLD) benefit from spaced retrieval during word learning activities. Word recall is quite good relative to recall with alternative word learning procedures. However, recall on an absolute basis can be improved further; many studies report that fewer than two-thirds of the words are learned, even with the assistance of spaced retrieval during the learning activities. In this article we identify details of spaced retrieval that are less well understood in an effort to promote more effective learning through retrieval practice.</p><p><strong>Main contribution: </strong>We discuss the importance of factors such as: (a) integrating immediate retrieval with spaced retrieval trials; (b) determining whether gradual increases in spacing have more than short-term benefits relative to equal spacing; (c) discovering the number of successful retrievals sufficient to ensure later recall; (d) using spaced retrieval to avoid erosion of phonetic details on later recall tests; and (e) whether the well-documented difficulties with learning word forms might be tied to a particular subgroup of children with DLD. We also speculate on some of the possible reasons why spaced retrieval is beneficial in the first place.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Although many children with DLD make gains in word learning through procedures that incorporate spaced retrieval, there are numerous details involved in the process that can alter its success. Until we have a better understanding of the boundaries of spaced retrieval's effectiveness, we will not be taking full advantage of this promising addition to word learning procedures.</p><p><strong>Implications: </strong>Spaced retrieval activities can be an important addition to the resources that clinicians and educators have available to assist children in their word learning. With a deeper understanding of the issues discussed here, we should be able to put spaced retrieval to even greater use.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"9 ","pages":"23969415241275940"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11365034/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142113016","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":"How do children with language disorder perceive their peer interactions? A qualitative investigation.","authors":"Hannah Cullen, Sarah Billingham, Michelle C St Clair","doi":"10.1177/23969415241275775","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415241275775","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aims: </strong>Peer interaction difficulties are often elevated amongst children with language disorders, yet the mechanisms underlying these difficulties are unclear. Previous research indicates that poor conflict management, social withdrawal, emotion regulation difficulties, and reduced prosocial behavior may contribute to peer interaction difficulties. However, this research often uses adult perspectives, failing to acknowledge child perceptions of these experiences. The present study aimed to qualitatively investigate perceptions of peer interactions from the perspective of children with language disorders.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Seven participants aged between 7- and 10-years-old took part. All participants were diagnosed with a language disorder and had language as their primary area of difficulty. Participants were recruited from a specialist language school and via an online database. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, with participants given the choice to answer questions verbally or creatively, using toys or drawing materials. Interview transcripts were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Participants valued play, conversation, and helping others. They felt that spending time with peers could alleviate loneliness. However, sometimes solitude was needed as social interaction could be overwhelming. Participants found conflict challenging and exhibited difficulties with regulating emotions. Participants relied on running away, retaliation, or asking an adult for help, to resolve conflict.</p><p><strong>Conclusions and implications: </strong>The findings suggest that children with language disorders are socially motivated and have relative strengths in displaying prosocial behavior. However, children with language disorders require support to promote positive relationships. This support includes help with making deeper connections with peers, opportunities to spend time alone when needed, and providing adept conflict resolution and emotion regulation strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"9 ","pages":"23969415241275775"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11365031/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142113014","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":"Is language impaired in Spanish-speaking children with autism spectrum disorder level 1?","authors":"Alberto Sánchez Pedroche, Mario Valera-Pozo, Angelica Mateus Moreno, Maria Fernanda Lara Díaz, Eva Aguilar-Mediavilla, Daniel Adrover-Roig","doi":"10.1177/23969415241275931","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415241275931","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The current diagnostic criteria for the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) include the possibility to specify concomitant language difficulties.</p><p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Our main aim was to explore whether children with ASD-Level 1 (ASD-L1) present difficulties in the acquisition of structural language, as little work has been done in this regard so far. As a secondary aim we evaluated the degree to which the potential language impairment in ASD is directly associated with their social communication deficits or it represents a distinct deficit.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>To further clarify the nature and characteristics of putative language difficulties in ASD-L1, we evaluated language skills in 89 children and preadolescents diagnosed with ASD-L1, and a group of typically developing participants (TD). All of them were between 8 and 13 years old and had similar socioeconomic backgrounds.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Children with ASD-L1 obtained lower scores than those in TD group in repeating sentences, in finding the semantic relationships between words, and in applying word structure rules (morphology). Congruently, the core language standard score was lower in the ASD-L1 group, and the proportion of language delay was significantly higher in the ASD-L1 group than in the control group.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Language scores were associated with autistic traits; thus, language performance in ASD-L1 is closely related to autistic symptoms. These results are discussed according to the literature on linguistic deficits in ASD-L1 and their relations with phonological working memory.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"9 ","pages":"23969415241275931"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11363034/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142113015","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":"How word meaning structure relates to executive functioning and theory of mind in children with developmental language disorder: A multiple case study.","authors":"Thomas F Camminga, Daan Hermans, Eliane Segers, Constance T W M Vissers","doi":"10.1177/23969415241268245","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415241268245","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aims: </strong>Many children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have difficulties in executive functioning (EF) and theory of mind (ToM). These difficulties might be explained by the theory that children's conceptual understanding changes over five stages of word meaning structure, from concrete and context-dependent to abstract and precise. We present a multiple case study examining how word meaning structure relates to EF and ToM in children with DLD.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Participants were five children with DLD aged 9-12 and five typically developing children matched for age, gender, and nonverbal intelligence. Word meaning structure was assessed using new dynamic test. EF was assessed using the Zoo Map Task and Behavioral Rating Inventory for EF. ToM was assessed using the ToM test, Frith-Happé Animations, and Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire. Behavioral problems were measured using the Child Behavior Checklist. Anamnestic interviews with the parents were conducted to describe the case histories.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>For the children with DLD, lower scores in the word meaning structure task were observed compared to those observed for their matched peers, with no statistical test applied. Word meaning structure related positively to EF and ToM, but not to behavioral problems. Instances in which word meaning structure dissociates from EF and ToM are discussed in individual case descriptions.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>By linking language to conceptual development, variations in word meaning structure may explain some EF and ToM difficulties in children with DLD.</p><p><strong>Implications: </strong>The present study offers a basis for future research on the relationships among word meaning structure, EF, and ToM.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"9 ","pages":"23969415241268245"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11337180/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142019044","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":"Autistic pupils' experiences in primary and post-primary schools: A scoping review and consultation with autistic pupils in Ireland.","authors":"Aoife Lynam, Mary Rose Sweeney, Lisa Keenan, Sinéad McNally","doi":"10.1177/23969415241258705","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415241258705","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aims: </strong>Autistic pupils have the right to be heard in matters concerning their education and to be active agents in shaping their school experiences. Despite this, educational policies and research have rarely included the voices of autistic children, failing to identify what they consider to be beneficial and meaningful in their own education. This study aimed to (i) summarise existing literature exploring autistic pupils' experiences at school from their own perspectives and (ii) identify gaps for future research through a consultation with autistic pupils.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A scoping review was conducted to identify studies exploring first-person accounts of autistic pupils' school experiences (primary and secondary; aged 4-18 years) published between 2005 and 2023. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify overarching thematic categories across the included studies. Review findings were discussed through a consultation with a Child and Youth Advisory Group (CYAG) comprised of autistic pupils in Ireland (<i>N</i> = 3), to seek feedback and inform a future research agenda.</p><p><strong>Main contribution: </strong>Thirty-six studies were included in the review and six themes were identified: Experiences of feeling misunderstood, of bullying and masking, of feeling excluded, of anxiety, of sensory needs in school, and of being overwhelmed during transitions. Consultation with the CYAG highlighted that these six themes were consistent with autistic pupils' experiences but that reports of positive experiences were missing in the literature.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study identified several gaps in the literature on the school experiences of autistic pupils, based on both the scoping review and consultation with the CYAG. While the CYAG validated the themes identified in existing literature, there is a need for greater diversity in the samples included and increased focus on the potential positive aspects of the school experience. Implications. These findings have important research implications. In particular, further studies are needed with autistic pupils at primary school level, including those who are minimally or non-speaking, as well as ensuring pupils with positive school experiences are also represented. Findings also highlight the need for continued collaboration with autistic pupils themselves in matters concerning their education.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"9 ","pages":"23969415241258705"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11171436/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141318477","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":"Teaching receptive vocabulary to two autistic children: A replicated, clinic-based, single case experimental design.","authors":"Rebecca Gray, Deirdre M Muldoon","doi":"10.1177/23969415241258699","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415241258699","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aims: </strong>This study was conducted in a clinical setting with the aim of replicating previously used procedures for teaching receptive vocabulary. Researchers increased the number of vocabulary words and maintained use of match-to-sample (MtS), prompting, and reinforcement procedures. Researchers were also interested in the efficacy of the intervention from caregivers' perspectives.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using a concurrent multiple baseline design, two autistic preschoolers with receptive language impairment were taught to identify 30 common objects. MtS, prompting, and reinforcement procedures were individualized to support each child. Maintenance checks and generalization probes were completed after a predetermined number of intervention sessions (i.e. three or four clinic sessions). A social validity questionnaire was completed by parents following the final maintenance check.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Receptive object identification improved significantly for both participants. Despite exposure to vocabulary targets for only three or four sessions, they generalized the vocabulary targets to non-identical pictures and maintained words at maintenance checks. Participants were most successful when researchers individualized prompting and reinforcement.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>MtS, prompting, and reinforcement were effective procedures for improving object identification, even with a limited number of intervention sessions. To support varying learner profiles, modifying prompting and reinforcement procedures was necessary. Caregivers of both participants reported positive improvements in areas such as communication, attention, and behaviors.</p><p><strong>Implications: </strong>This replicated study provides support for MtS, prompting, and reinforcement as means of teaching receptive vocabulary to autistic preschoolers in a clinical setting. The materials used were simple and cost-effective. Overall, this study outlines and supports a flexible and effective evidence-based practice to teach receptive language to autistic children.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"9 ","pages":"23969415241258699"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11131401/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141162629","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":"Natural language acquisition and gestalt language processing: A critical analysis of their application to autism and speech language therapy<sup />.","authors":"Tiffany L Hutchins, Sophie E Knox, E Cheryl Fletcher","doi":"10.1177/23969415241249944","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415241249944","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aim: </strong>Recently, there has been a lot of interest surrounding the term gestalt language processor (GLP) which is associated with Natural Language Acquisition (NLA): a protocol intended to support the language development of autistic people. In NLA, delayed echolalia is presumed raw source material that GLPs use to acquire language in a stage-like progression from delayed echolalia to spontaneous speech. The aim of this article is to evaluate NLA in light of relevant literatures to allow scrutiny of NLA claims.</p><p><strong>Main contributions: </strong>First, we review the notion of gestalt language and situate it in the broader literature on language styles to update understanding of its significance. We then review the links from gestalt language processing to autism and identify definitional and conceptual problems and clarify the construct 'episodic memory'. We discuss the 'raw material view of delayed echolalia' and identify theoretical and empirical shortcomings. Finally, we review Blanc's language stages and their accompanying assessment and language support recommendations and challenge their validity.</p><p><strong>Conclusions & implications: </strong>The term 'gestalt language processor' is definitionally and conceptually troubled, the assertion that autistic people are GLPs is misleading and unhelpful, and evidence is lacking that GLP represents a legitimate clinical entity. The theoretical basis of NLA lacks empirical support. NLA stages are implausible and their accompanying assessment and support recommendations lack justification. We recommend the use of alternate, individualized, theoretically-sound, evidence-based, neurodiversity-affirming supports that are sensitive and responsive to the heterogeneity that defines autism.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"9 ","pages":"23969415241249944"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11113044/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141088190","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":"Factors associated with receptive and expressive language in autistic children and siblings: A systematic review.","authors":"Marjolein Muès, Sarah Schaubroeck, Ellen Demurie, Herbert Roeyers","doi":"10.1177/23969415241253554","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415241253554","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background & aims: </strong>Language abilities of autistic children and children at elevated likelihood for autism (EL-siblings) are highly heterogeneous, and many of them develop language deficits. It is as of yet unclear why language abilities of autistic children and EL-siblings vary, although an interaction of multiple influential factors is likely at play. In this review, we describe research articles that identify one or multiple of such factors associated with the receptive or expressive language abilities of autistic children and EL-siblings since the introduction of the <i>DSM-5</i>. Our aim was to identify and summarize factors that are linked to language development in autistic children and siblings in the recent literature to ultimately gain insight into the heterogeneity of language abilities in these children.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The search strategy of this review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The following databases were consulted: Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science Core Collection, and Scopus. Inclusion criteria for studies were the presence of a sample of autistic children no older than 7 years old who were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder per the criteria of the <i>DSM-5</i>. Intervention studies and studies without an explicitly reported language measure were excluded. Risk of bias assessment was completed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scales. Ultimately, 55 articles were included in this review.</p><p><strong>Main contribution: </strong>Fifty-six factors were identified to be related to receptive or expressive language abilities of autistic children and EL-siblings. They were grouped into three main categories: biological factors; psychosocial and environmental factors; and age-related and developmental factors, each with different subcategories. Although many of the identified variables were only examined in one article, some well-researched associated factors were reported across multiple studies and were present in both autistic children and EL-siblings, in particular joint attention, nonverbal cognitive abilities and frontal EEG power. Better insight in these factors associated with language abilities in autistic children and siblings at elevated likelihood can inform future intervention strategies to reduce language deficits and its corresponding negative consequences in these children.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our results confirm that multiple different factors likely underlie language deficits in autism. Important aspects that should be considered are, among others, social factors such as joint attention, child characteristics such as nonverbal cognition, and neurocognitive factors.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"9 ","pages":"23969415241253554"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11092550/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140923232","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":"Empowering Hong Kong Chinese families with autism: A preliminary study of the online Hanen More Than Words Program.","authors":"Xin Qi, Qiwei Zhao, Carol K S To","doi":"10.1177/23969415241245096","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/23969415241245096","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Parent involvement is crucial for tailored early intervention programs. The Hanen More Than Words (HMTW) program is a parent-implemented language intervention for autistic children. The current study examined the effectiveness of the HMTW program delivered online among Chinese families.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using a randomized controlled trial design, 22 Chinese families of autistic children in Hong Kong completed the trial. Baseline and post-intervention assessments were conducted to measure changes in parent-child interaction, parents' use of linguistic facilitation techniques (LFTs), and children's communication skills. Additionally, the influence of parental self-efficacy and parenting stress on treatment outcomes was explored.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The intervention group demonstrated significant improvements in parent-child attention synchrony. Although the treatment effect on children's spontaneous communication was not significant, the intervention group showed a larger effect size compared to the controls. The treatment outcomes were mainly influenced by the parents' initial levels of self-efficacy but not by parenting stress.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These findings provide preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of the online-delivered HMTW program for Chinese parents of autistic children. Further research involving a larger sample and focusing on long-term effects is needed.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"9 ","pages":"23969415241245096"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11025426/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140871391","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}