Volume 26, Issue 3 (Autumn-In Press 2025)
jrehab 2025, 26(3): 0-0 |
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Ghovati F, Ashtari A, Soleimani F, Zarifian T, Vahedi M, Goshtai S M. An Investigation and Comparison of Early Communication Skills in Persian-Speaking Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Using "Communication Skills Checklist (CSC). jrehab 2025; 26 (3)
URL: http://rehabilitationj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-3632-en.html
URL: http://rehabilitationj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-3632-en.html
Fateme Ghovati1 
, Atieh Ashtari *2 , Farin Soleimani3 , Talieh Zarifian1 , Mohsen Vahedi4 , Seyyede Masuomeh Goshtai5
, Atieh Ashtari *2 , Farin Soleimani3 , Talieh Zarifian1 , Mohsen Vahedi4 , Seyyede Masuomeh Goshtai5
1- Department of speech therapy, Pediatric Neurorehabilitation Research center, School of Rehabilitation sciences, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2- Department of speech therapy, Pediatric Neurorehabilitation Research center, School of Rehabilitation sciences, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran ,atieh.ashtarislp@gmail.com
3- Pediatric Neurorehabilitation Research center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran
4- of Biostatistics,School of Social Health, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
5- , Head of Department of Health Education and Promotion, Department of Health Education and Promotion, Deputy of Health, Iran university of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
2- Department of speech therapy, Pediatric Neurorehabilitation Research center, School of Rehabilitation sciences, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran ,
3- Pediatric Neurorehabilitation Research center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran
4- of Biostatistics,School of Social Health, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
5- , Head of Department of Health Education and Promotion, Department of Health Education and Promotion, Deputy of Health, Iran university of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract: (432 Views)
Purpose: Early communication skills which emerge during the prelinguistic period, form the essential foundation for later language development in both typically developing children and those with communication disorders. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often exhibit significant deficits in these skills. This study aimed to investigate early communication skills in minimally verbal or nonverbal Persian-speaking children with ASD aged 3-5 years using the Communication Skills Checklist (CSC).
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included two groups of Persian-speaking children, the first group comprised 70 children diagnosed with ASD, divided into three age subgroups (3,4 and 5 years), with at least 23 participants per subgroup (49 boys and 21 girls), the second group consisted of 132 typically developing (TD) Persian-speaking children aged 9-12 months, divided into four age subgroups with at least 25 participants each (69 boys and 63 girls).The groups were matched based on communicative developmental level. ASD diagnoses were confirmed by a child psychiatrist according to DSM-5 criteria. Children with ASD demonstrated early intentional communication and had a maximum of 3 to 5 spontaneous expressive words as assessed by the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI-1). Participants with ASD were recruited from rehabilitation centers in Tehran while TD children were recruited in person from health and vaccination centers in Tehran and online via social media platforms, with no parental concerns about development confirmed through health records and an inclusion checklist designed by the researchers. Communication skills including communication, expression, comprehension, play and imitation were evluated using Communication Skills Checklist (CSC) and compared both within age subgroups and between the two main participant groups.
Results: No significant differences were observed between the scores of children with ASD aged 3 to 5 years and TD children aged 9 to 11 months across most early communication skills (p>0.05). However, significant differences were found between ASD group and TD children aged 12 months in all measured communicative skills as well as in communication subscale - assessing gestures, eye contact and communication functions, with the ASD group scoring lower in both comparisons (p<0.001)., One- way ANOVA results revealed no significant differences within the ASD group (p>0.05), but significant differences among TD age subgroups with older children scoring higher (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Despite being considerably older in chronological age, children with ASD showed notable delays in all early communication skills compared to 12-month-old TD children. These underscore the need for early screening and intervention targeting early communication skills in children with ASD to support language and communication development in these children.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included two groups of Persian-speaking children, the first group comprised 70 children diagnosed with ASD, divided into three age subgroups (3,4 and 5 years), with at least 23 participants per subgroup (49 boys and 21 girls), the second group consisted of 132 typically developing (TD) Persian-speaking children aged 9-12 months, divided into four age subgroups with at least 25 participants each (69 boys and 63 girls).The groups were matched based on communicative developmental level. ASD diagnoses were confirmed by a child psychiatrist according to DSM-5 criteria. Children with ASD demonstrated early intentional communication and had a maximum of 3 to 5 spontaneous expressive words as assessed by the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI-1). Participants with ASD were recruited from rehabilitation centers in Tehran while TD children were recruited in person from health and vaccination centers in Tehran and online via social media platforms, with no parental concerns about development confirmed through health records and an inclusion checklist designed by the researchers. Communication skills including communication, expression, comprehension, play and imitation were evluated using Communication Skills Checklist (CSC) and compared both within age subgroups and between the two main participant groups.
Results: No significant differences were observed between the scores of children with ASD aged 3 to 5 years and TD children aged 9 to 11 months across most early communication skills (p>0.05). However, significant differences were found between ASD group and TD children aged 12 months in all measured communicative skills as well as in communication subscale - assessing gestures, eye contact and communication functions, with the ASD group scoring lower in both comparisons (p<0.001)., One- way ANOVA results revealed no significant differences within the ASD group (p>0.05), but significant differences among TD age subgroups with older children scoring higher (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Despite being considerably older in chronological age, children with ASD showed notable delays in all early communication skills compared to 12-month-old TD children. These underscore the need for early screening and intervention targeting early communication skills in children with ASD to support language and communication development in these children.
Type of Study: Original |
Subject:
Speech & Language Pathology
Received: 5/05/2025 | Accepted: 23/09/2025 | Published: 23/09/2025
Received: 5/05/2025 | Accepted: 23/09/2025 | Published: 23/09/2025
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This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-By-NC), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
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