Measuring and supporting language function for children with autism: evidence from a randomized control trial of a social-interaction-based therapy

Devin M Casenhiser; Amanda Binns; Fay McGill; Olga Morderer; Stuart G Shanker

doi:10.1007/s10803-014-2242-3

Measuring and supporting language function for children with autism: evidence from a randomized control trial of a social-interaction-based therapy

J Autism Dev Disord. 2015 Mar;45(3):846-57. doi: 10.1007/s10803-014-2242-3.

Authors

Devin M Casenhiser¹, Amanda Binns, Fay McGill, Olga Morderer, Stuart G Shanker

Affiliation

¹ Milton and Ethel Harris Research Initiative, York University, Toronto, Canada, dcasenhi@uthsc.edu.

PMID: 25234481
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-014-2242-3

Abstract

In a report of the effectiveness of MEHRIT, a social-interaction-based intervention for autism, Casenhiser et al. (Autism 17(2):220-241, 2013) failed to find a significant advantage for language development in the treatment group using standardized language assessments. We present the results from a re-analysis of their results to illustrate the importance of measuring communicative language acts (formally called "speech acts"). Reanalysis confirmed that children in the MEHRIT group outperformed the community treatment group on measures of MLUm, number of utterances produced, and various speech act categories. The study underscores the importance of functional language measures in guiding and evaluating treatment for children with autism, and suggests that MEHRIT is effective in improving children's use of language during parent-child interactions.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Autistic Disorder / rehabilitation*
Child, Preschool
Female
Humans
Interpersonal Relations*
Language Development
Language Therapy / methods*
Male
Parent-Child Relations
Speech Therapy / methods*