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Few evidence‐based services exist for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as they transition into adulthood, particularly those that foster appreciation of one's own goals and strengths. We developed a transition service for adults with ASD (without Intellectual Disability), and conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) focusing on self‐report of Quality of Life and Self‐Determination outcomes. Thirty participants aged 18–29 were randomized to immediate or delayed intervention, with 26 participants analyzed after 4 were lost to follow‐up. Curriculum was tailored to participants' self‐expressed needs in three areas: social communication, self‐determination, and working with others. Groups of four‐to‐six participants with ASD and two facilitators met weekly for 10 weeks. Positive intervention effects were observed on self‐report of Quality of Life; the intervention group scored on average 2 points higher than the control group, 95% CI [−0.2, 3.9]. Positive effects were also observed on the Self Determination Scale (Interpersonal Cognitive Problem‐Solving subdomain), where the intervention group scored 2 points higher than control group 95% CI [0.082, 3.4]. In addition, participants rated skills targeted by the curriculum 6 points higher after versus before intervention, 95% CI [3.7, 8.6]. This was echoed by a subset of parents rating their child's skills as seven points higher after versus before intervention, 95% CI [1, 14]. Autism Research2018, 11: 1712–1728. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Lay Summary: These findings indicate that it is possible to increase Self‐Determination and subjective Quality of Life in adults with ASD through a brief group‐format service, and provide a model for doing so. Self‐Determination abilities are linked to improved adult outcomes in individuals with other disabilities. These often overlooked factors should be incorporated in programming for adults with ASD as they transition to adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of bilingual children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have focused on early language development using parent report measures. However, the effect of bilingual exposure on more complex linguistic abilities is unknown. In the current study, we examined the impact of amount of language exposure on vocabulary and morphological skills in school‐aged children with ASD who did not have intellectual disability. Forty‐seven typically developing children and 30 children with ASD with varying exposure to French participated in the study. We investigated the impact of amount of language exposure, nonverbal IQ, age, and working memory on language abilities via regression analyses. Current amount of language exposure was the strongest predictor of both vocabulary skills (accounting for 62% of the variance) and morphological skills (accounting for 49% of the variance), for both typically‐developing children and children with ASD. These findings highlight the central role amount of language exposure plays in vocabulary and morphological development for children with ASD, as it does for typically‐developing children. In addition, they provide further evidence that, when provided with adequate language exposure, many children with ASD are capable of acquiring two languages. Autism Research2018, 11: 1667–1678. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Lay Summary We studied typically developing children and children with ASD living in a bilingual society who had varying exposure to French (ranging from bilinguals to monolinguals). We investigated the impact of amount of language exposure, nonverbal IQ, age, and working memory on their vocabulary and morphological skills. Current amount of language exposure was the strongest predictor of language skills in both groups of children. Findings indicate that when provided with adequate language exposure, many children with ASD are capable of acquiring two languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well established that children with typical development ( TYP) exposed to more maternal linguistic input develop larger vocabularies. We know relatively little about the linguistic environment available to children with autism spectrum disorders ( ASD), and whether input contributes to their later vocabulary. Children with ASD or TYP and their mothers from English and French-speaking families engaged in a 10 min free-play interaction. To compare input, children were matched on language ability, sex, and maternal education ( ASD n = 20, TYP n = 20). Input was transcribed, and the number of word tokens and types, lexical diversity ( D), mean length of utterances ( MLU), and number of utterances were calculated. We then examined the relationship between input and children's spoken vocabulary 6 months later in a larger sample ( ASD: n = 19, 50-85 months; TYP: n = 44, 25-58 months). No significant group differences were found on the five input features. A hierarchical multiple regression model demonstrated input MLU significantly and positively contributed to spoken vocabulary 6 months later in both groups, over and above initial language levels. No significant difference was found between groups in the slope between input MLU and later vocabulary. Our findings reveal children with ASD and TYP of similar language levels are exposed to similar maternal linguistic environments regarding number of word tokens and types, D, MLU, and number of utterances. Importantly, linguistic input accounted for later vocabulary growth in children with ASD. Autism Res 2015, 8: 214-223. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared the object descriptions of school-age children with high-functioning autism (HFA) with those of a matched group of typically developing children. Descriptions were elicited in a referential communication task where shared information was manipulated, and in a guessing game where clues had to be provided about the identity of an object that was hidden from the addressee. Across these tasks, increasingly complex levels of audience design were assessed: (1) the ability to give adequate descriptions from one's own perspective, (2) the ability to adjust descriptions to an addressee's perspective when this differs from one's own, and (3) the ability to provide indirect yet identifying descriptions in a situation where explicit labeling is inappropriate. Results showed that there were group differences in all three cases, with the HFA group giving less efficient descriptions with respect to the relevant context than the comparison group. More revealing was the identification of distinct adaptation profiles among the HFA participants: those who had difficulty with all three levels, those who displayed Level 1 audience design but poor Level 2 and Level 3 design, and those demonstrated all three levels of audience design, like the majority of the comparison group. Higher structural language ability, rather than symptom severity or social skills, differentiated those HFA participants with typical adaptation profiles from those who displayed deficient audience design, consistent with previous reports of language use in autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]