Research on Spoken Language and Autism

Research on Spoken Language and Autism

There is exciting news coming out of The Autism Center of Excellence at Boston University, according to an article in the ASHA Leader entitled “Seeking an Elusive Goal in Severe Autism: Spoken Language”. The center has been awarded a $9 million grant from the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). This grant will be used to conduct research to identify neurological differences between individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who use spoken language and individuals with ASD who do not use natural speech. Helen Tager-Flusberg is the psychologist who runs The Autism Center, and hypothesizes that the “wiring” of these individuals’ brains may be different in the auditory processing section or the speech motor section. She also hypothesizes that differences may be in both parts of the brain, or in neither- hence, the importance of research being done in this area. The goal of this research is to eventually determine more effective interventions for non-speaking individuals with ASD to support their acquisition of speech. To read the entire article about this important research, please follow the link below and scroll halfway down the page:

https://leader.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=1912322

Christina McCarrick, MS, CCC-SLP