Speech-Language Pathology Interventions
The purpose of the study was to investigate causes and language trajectories for individual children with autism spectrum disorders. The researchers were interested in determining how these problems might be solved in children.
Rationale for the Study
There is no information available regarding whether there are stable periods of development for children with autism spectrum disorders that would be positive or favorable for intervention by educators (Pickles, Anderson and Lord 1354).
The study followed students over a long period of time on a number of students in an attempt to use latent class growth models to characterize heterogeneous development patterns in children (Pickles, Anderson and Lord 1355).
Method
The subjects were one hundred and ninety two students with autism spectrum disorders, followed between the ages of two and nineteen (Pickles, Anderson and Lord 1354).
The students were tested at various points in their development; they were not asked to do anything beyond participate in the program and accept regular testing at six points over their young lives (Pickles, Anderson and Lord 1354-1355).
The study was performed over seventeen years, during which time the participants were tested six times on a number of developmental benchmarks (Pickles, Anderson and Lord 1354). The purpose was to determine whether there were stable points in their linguistic development.
Results
The researchers identified seven classes of development in children with autism spectrum disorders. During the early stages, between two and six, the students had heterogeneous development patterns; however, once development progressed past six, the patterns became parallel (Pickles, Anderson and Lord 1359).
Although the researchers do not state the hypotheses, one would assume that the research was conducted because the researchers had a suspicion that there would be different development patterns; the heterogeneous early development patterns reflect this hypothesis.
Discussion
The researchers found that two thirds of the children involved in the study achieved functional language, and suspect that the number would be higher if the research were done today, due to the higher and more successful rate of diagnosis (Pickles, Anderson and Lord 1359).
The researchers demonstrated that the heterogeneous growth patterns slowed after the age of six, something that was relatively unexpected (Pickles, Anderson and Lord 1359).
Clinical Implications
These strategies can easily be applied in the classroom, and might help students develop better reading skills over a shorter period of time.
These results give a more thorough understanding of the way that certain students experience the classroom environment, and the difficulties with development that they might experience.
Limitations of the Study
The population of the study was relatively small—it was only one hundred and ninety-two students, meaning it was an excellent start but was by no means conclusive evidence (Pickles, Anderson and Lord 1354). Pedagogical structures have also evolved since the time when these students were chosen for the study.
Future Research
Future research might compare children of different age brackets, and other research might consider the implications of heterogeneous development on children with problems like dyslexia and other issues that commonly cause literacy problems.
Conclusions
The study was thorough, and served its purpose quite well. However, the group was relatively culturally homogenous; to really understand the implications on children with autism spectrum disorders, a study on children with particular types of the disorder should be studied.
Works Cited
Pickles, Andrew, Deborah K. Anderson, and Catherine Lord. "Heterogeneity and plasticity in the development of language: a 17‐year follow‐up of children referred early for possible autism." Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 55.12 (2014): 1354-1362.
