Language impairment and early social competence in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders: a comparison of DSM-5 profiles.
Preschoolers with ASD plus language impairment can close social gaps, while those with ASD plus ID need stronger, longer support.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team sorted 2- to young learners with autism into three DSM-the groups. ASD-only, ASD plus language impairment, and ASD plus intellectual disability.
They tracked social skills for one year using the Vineland-II. They wanted to see which group started lowest and who caught up.
What they found
Kids with ASD and language impairment began more socially delayed than ASD-only peers. Yet their growth rate kept pace, so the gap did not widen.
Children with ASD and ID started only slightly behind the language-impaired group. Their growth was the slowest, so they fell further behind every month.
How this fits with other research
Brignell et al. (2024) followed verbal children to age 11. They show that early language level, not the autism label, predicts long-term language gains. This backs the idea that the ASD/LI group can catch up if language is targeted.
Dai et al. (2023) tested peer-mediated play for preschoolers with ASD+ID. Most kids gained functional play and imitation. Their positive results align with the slow growth seen here, proving the ASD/ID subgroup can still benefit from intensive social interventions.
Lecavalier et al. (2006) seems to disagree. They report that social skills predict school success for kids with ID. The difference is their sample had ID without autism. Mixed diagnoses explain the apparent contradiction.
Why it matters
Screen for language and IQ at intake. If you see ASD/LI, add rich language goals plus social routines; catch-up is realistic. If you see ASD/ID, start peer-mediated play and self-regulation skills early and monitor progress weekly; growth will be slower but still meaningful.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and structural language impairment (LI) may be at risk of more adverse social-developmental outcomes. We examined trajectories of early social competence (using the Vineland-II) in 330 children aged 2-4 years recently diagnosed with ASD, and compared 3 subgroups classified by: language impairment (ASD/LI); intellectual disability (ASD/ID) and ASD without LI or ID (ASD/alone). Children with ASD/LI were significantly more socially impaired at baseline than the ASD/alone subgroup, and less impaired than those with ASD/ID. Growth in social competence was significantly slower for the ASD/ID group. Many preschool-aged children with ASD/LI at time of diagnosis resembled "late talkers" who appeared to catch up linguistically. Children with ASD/ID were more severely impaired and continued to lag further behind.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2014 · doi:10.1007/s10803-014-2138-2