Symbolic Communication Forms in Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

The aim of this study was to examine how early symbolic forms (and their associated communicative functions) are related to change in communication among a sample of 12 young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who produced two or fewer spoken words (M age = 28.75 months; 11 male, 1 female). Parents reported on children's symbolic communication forms for 10 communicative functions at baseline and follow-up. Results indicated that on average reported symbolic forms changed over the 8-week period. Relative to children assigned to the nontrained symbol group, children assigned to the trained symbol group were significantly more likely to add a new symbolic form by follow-up. Contrary to authors' initial hypothesis, early gesture production at enrollment was not related to communication change. These findings provide information into the use of parent-report measurement to describe symbolic forms in young children with communication disability and highlight imitation as a frequently reported communicative function.