Return to Language Benchmarks in Children with ASD
| Language Phase | Language Domain | Measures | Variables | Range in Typical Development | Example | Minimum Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Words 12 - 18 months |
Phonology | NLS | CV combinations or | CV-CVC | hi, Mommy | CV, or |
| NLS | Consonant Inventory | 2 - 8 different consonants | m, b, y, n, w, d, p, h (Early 8) | 4 consonants | ||
| Vocabulary |
NLS |
# different words used referentially in 20 mins or |
2 - 15 words |
more, bubble, go, open ball |
5 types and 20 tokens, or |
|
|
Parent Report |
# different word roots or |
(range for 13-18 mo.) |
MCDI |
AE for 15 months, or |
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|
Direct Assessment |
Confrontation naming |
(range for 13-18 mo.) |
Mullen; Reynell |
AE for 15 months |
||
| Pragmatics |
NLS |
# different communicative functions or |
2 - 5 functions |
comments; request; |
Comments + 1 other, or |
|
|
Direct Assessment |
# communication functions |
(range for 13-18 mo.) |
CSBS |
AE for 15 months |
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| Word Combinations 18 - 30 months |
Phonology | NLS |
CV combinations or |
CV - CCVCC |
go, drink |
Closed syllables, or |
|
Word structures or |
1 - 3 syllable words |
|
Syllable words, or |
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|
% fully intelligible or |
40 - 80% |
|
50 % intelligible, or |
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|
# consonants |
8 - 18 consonants |
Early 8 + t, ng, k, g, f, v, ch, j |
10 consonants |
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| Vocabulary |
NLS |
# different words used referentially in 20 mins or |
10 - 50 words |
|
30 words, or |
|
|
Parent Report |
# different words or |
(range for 21-27 mo.) |
MCDI; LDS |
24 mo. AE, or |
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|
Direct Assessment |
Confrontation naming |
21 - 27 mo. age range |
EOWVT |
24 mo. AE |
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| Grammar |
NLS |
mean length of utterance or |
MLU: 1.1 - 2.4 (in morphemes) |
|
MLU=1.8, or |
|
|
Parent Report |
mean length in words of 3 longest utterances or |
(range for 21-27 mo.; on MCDI:2.6-5.5) |
MCDI |
MCDI: 3.8, or |
||
|
Direct Assessment |
|
|
See text |
24 mo. AE |
||
| Pragmatics |
NLS |
# different communicative functions or |
3 - 6 functions |
comments, request; turn-taking |
comments, request, turn-taking, or |
|
|
|
Proportional JA+Social/Total Comm. Acts or |
.3 - .7 |
|
0.5, or |
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|
|
Conversational functions or |
responds and initiates |
answer/ask question |
2 initiations+ 2 responses, or |
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|
Parent Report |
Inventory of child's communicative use |
21 - 27 mo. age range |
LUI |
24 mo. AE |
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|
Sentences |
Phonology |
NLS |
% fully intelligible or |
70-100% |
|
75% intelligible, or |
|
NLS |
Consonant Inventory or |
16-24 different C; 75% correct |
Previous Cs + sh, th, s, z, l, zh |
|
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|
Direct Assessment |
AE score |
|
GFTA-2 |
36 mo. AE |
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| Vocabulary |
NLS |
# different word roots or |
70-136 in 65 utterances |
SALT norms |
92 in 65 utterances, or |
|
|
Direct Assessment |
AE score |
(range for 30-48 mo.) |
|
36 mo. AE |
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| Grammar |
NLS |
MLU in morphemes or |
2.7 - 4.0 MLU |
|
MLU=3.0, or |
|
|
Direct Assessment |
AE score |
|
TEGI; SPELT-3 |
36 mo. AE |
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| Pragmatics |
Elicited NLS |
Discourse functions or |
narration |
pretense; talk about past/future |
1 narrative, or |
|
|
NLS |
Conversational topic-related turn taking or |
|
|
2 full turns on same topic, or |
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|
|
|
|
following adult utterance |
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|
Parent Report |
Inventory of child's communicative use or |
30 -48 mo. age range |
LUI |
36 mo. AE, or |
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|
Direct Assessment |
Communicative functions |
30 -48 mo. age range |
CASL |
Key
Tests
Mullen: Mullen Scales of Early Learning (Mullen, 1995)
Reynell: Reynell Developmental Language Scales (Reynell & Gruber, 1990)
CSBS: Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales (Wetherby & Prizant, 2002)
MCDI: MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (Fenson et al., 2007)
LDS: Language Development Survey (Rescorla, 1989)
EOWVT: Expresssive One Word Vocabulary Test - Revised (Gardner, 1990)
LUI: Language Use Inventory (O'Neil, 2007)
GFTA-2: Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation -2 (Goldman & Fristoe, 2000)
SALT norms: Miller & Chapman (1981)
TEGI: Test of Early Grammatical Impairment (Rice & Wexler, 2001)
SPELT 3: Structured Photographic Expressive Language Test 3 (Dawson & Stout, 2003)
CASL: Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (Carrow-Woolfolk, 1999)
Other Abbreviations
NLS: Natural Language Sample
AE: Age equivalent
MLU: Mean Length of Utterance
C: Consonant
V: Vowel