Caregiver Language Input in Different Engagement States During Play Interactions With Toddlers With Autism: An Observational Study.

ABSTRACT: Caregiver language input is a key component of children's early developmental environment, with its nature likely varying based on certain characteristics. This study explored how caregiver language input differed across different engagement states for 12-24-month-old toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n = 39) or typically developing (TD) toddlers (n = 31) based on their ages and spoken language during the interaction in Chinese contexts. Caregiver language was analyzed during 10-min naturalistic dyadic play interactions, including the mean length of utterances, total frequency of input, functional features (include affect-salient speech, directives, questions, labeling, descriptions, and attention getters), and the integrated proportion of utterances and gestures.

SUBMITTER: Li Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12536155 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature