Audra Sterling, PhD

Audra Sterling SotW

Investigating the Receptive-Expressive Vocabulary Profile in Children with Idiopathic ASD and Comorbid ASD and Fragile X Syndrome

Legend: Association between expressive and receptive vocabulary. Note: This figure illustrates the relationship between expressive and receptive vocabulary for the two groups

Citation: Haebig E, Sterling A. (2017) Investigating the Receptive-Expressive Vocabulary Profile in Children with Idiopathic ASD and Comorbid ASD and Fragile X Syndrome. J Autism Dev Disord. 2017 Feb;47(2):260-274. doi: 10.1007/s10803-016-2921-3.

Abstract: Previous work has noted that some children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) display weaknesses in receptive vocabulary relative to expressive vocabulary abilities. The current study extended previous work by examining the receptive-expressive vocabulary profile in boys with idiopathic ASD and boys with concomitant ASD and fragile X syndrome (ASD + FXS). On average, boys with ASD + FXS did not display the same atypical receptive-expressive profile as boys with idiopathic ASD. Notably, there was variation in vocabulary abilities and profiles in both groups. Although we did not identify predictors of receptive-expressive differences, we demonstrated that nonverbal IQ and expressive vocabulary positively predicted concurrent receptive vocabulary knowledge and receptive vocabulary predicted expressive vocabulary. We discuss areas of overlap and divergence in subgroups of ASD.

About the Lab: The Research in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Lab (RIDDL) is interested in the development of language and cognitive skills in children and adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Through our work we hope to inform both clinical work and theory on issues surrounding assessment and treatment of language, the impact of additional diagnoses on language and behavior, and overlap between syndromes. We work with families who have children with fragile X syndrome, autism spectrum disorders, and Down syndrome.

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