Abstract
Phenotypical heterogeneity in language abilities is a hallmark of autism but remains poorly understood. The present study collected naturalistic language samples from parent–child interactions. We quantified verbal abilities (mean length of utterance, tokens, types) of 50 Chinese-speaking children (M = 5; 6) and stratified subgroups based on their autism traits, IQ, and language abilities. Using hierarchical cluster analysis, four groups were identified. Group 1, the least affected group, had mild autism, the highest IQ, and the strongest verbal abilities. Group 2, the severely affected group, had the lowest IQ, most severe autism symptoms, and weakest verbal abilities. Group 3 and Group 4 displayed average levels of verbal abilities and IQ. These findings may characterize the heterogeneous profiles of verbal abilities in Chinese-speaking children.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1908-1919 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Early online date | 26 May 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - May 2022 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
Funding
This research has been fully supported by a grant from the Innovation and Technology Fund for Better Living (“FBL”) (Project no. ITB/FBL/8005/17/P).
Keywords
- Cluster analysis
- Heterogeneity
- Naturalistic sampling approach
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