Center for Language and Brain, HSE University, Moscow, Russia.
Center for Language and Brain, HSE University, Moscow, Russia; Vinogradov Russian Language Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.
Res Dev Disabil. 2021 Oct;117:104042. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2021.104042. Epub 2021 Jul 30.
Abnormal language development in both expressive and receptive domains occurs in most children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), although the language deficit is not a core symptom of ASD. However, previous studies disagree on the difference in the degree of impairment between expressive and receptive language in ASD. Existing research has concentrated on vocabulary and 'global expressive and receptive language', often using parental reports for language assessment. Moreover, most of these studies have focused on toddlers and preschoolers with ASD, whereas data from school-aged children with ASD are very limited. At the same time, the age of children might account for the inconsistencies across publications on expressive-receptive language difference in children with ASD.
The goal of the study was to directly compare the expressive and receptive language abilities of Russian primary-school-aged children with ASD (7-11 years old) at the levels of vocabulary, morphosyntax, and discourse.
82 children with ASD participated in language testing. We used tests from the Russian Child Language Assessment Battery in order to assess vocabulary, morphosyntax, and discourse in expressive and receptive domains.
Our results revealed different expressive and receptive patterns, depending on the linguistic level and tests complexity. Importantly, we showed that children's non-verbal IQ partly accounted for the difference between production and comprehension abilities.
The expressive-better-than-receptive pattern in language has been considered by some authors as the unique hallmark of ASD. However, several studies, including our own, show that this is not a universal characteristic of ASD. We also revealed that expressive and receptive language patterns differed depending on the linguistic level, children's non-verbal IQ, and assessment tools.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）患儿在表达性和接受性语言领域均存在发育异常，尽管语言缺陷并非 ASD 的核心症状。然而，既往研究对于 ASD 患儿在表达性和接受性语言方面的损伤程度存在分歧。既往研究主要集中于词汇和“整体表达性和接受性语言”，语言评估常采用家长报告。此外，这些研究大多针对 ASD 幼儿和学龄前儿童，而 ASD 学龄儿童的数据非常有限。同时，患儿年龄可能是导致 ASD 患儿在表达性-接受性语言差异方面的研究结果不一致的原因之一。
本研究旨在直接比较俄罗斯学龄期 ASD 儿童（7-11 岁）在词汇、形态句法和语篇等语言水平上的表达性和接受性语言能力。
82 名 ASD 患儿参与了语言测试。我们使用俄罗斯儿童语言评估量表中的测试来评估表达性和接受性领域的词汇、形态句法和语篇。
我们的研究结果揭示了不同的表达性和接受性模式，这取决于语言水平和测试的复杂性。重要的是，我们发现儿童的非言语智商部分解释了语言产生能力和理解能力之间的差异。
一些作者认为语言表达优于接受的模式是 ASD 的独特标志。然而，包括我们自己的研究在内的多项研究表明，这并非 ASD 的普遍特征。我们还发现，表达性和接受性语言模式取决于语言水平、儿童的非言语智商和评估工具。
