The aim of this study was to describe arm and hand movement in children suspected of having autism spectrum disorder (ASD; age range 29–43 months). A videotaped retrospective review of five children with symptoms of ASD during Communication Temptation Tasks was completed at two time points (pre-testing and 6 weeks later). Categories of arm and hand movement were classified and examined. Findings revealed that mean proportional use of arm and hand movement types were generally stable between time points. Only 2 of 17 coded arm and hand movements significantly changed over the 6-week developmental period for appropriate actions on objects and the “give” meaningful communicative act. Appropriate actions on objects were represented at the highest proportion at each time point. Aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) was inconsistently used. The findings support the need to examine motor and language co-developments in children suspected of having ASD to inform clinical practice.
AcredoloL.GoodwynS. (1988). Symbolic gesturing in normal infants. Child Development, 59, 450–466.
2.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
3.
Baron-CohenS. (1989). Perceptual role-taking and protodeclarative pointing in autism. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 7, 113–127.
4.
BatesE. (1976). Language and context: Studies in the acquisition of pragmatics. New York, NY: Academic Press.
5.
BatesE. (1979). The emergence of symbols: Cognition and communication in infancy. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
6.
BatesE.CamaioniL.VolterraV. (1975). The acquisition of performatives prior to speech. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 21, 205–226.
7.
BradyN. C.FlemingK.Thiemann-BourqueK.OlswangL.DowdenP.SaundersM. D.MarquisJ. (2012). Development of the Communication Complexity Scale. American Journal of Speech–Language Pathology, 21, 16–28.
8.
BrethertonI.BatesE.McNewS.ShoreC.WilliamsonC.Beeghly-SmithM. (1981). Comprehension and production of symbols in infancy: An experimental study. Developmental Psychology, 17, 728–736.
9.
CaponeN.McGregorK. K. (2004). Gesture development: A review for clinical and research practices. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 47, 173–186.
10.
CapriciO.IversonJ.PizzutoE.VolterraV. (1996). Gestures and words during the transition to two-word speech. Journal of Child Language, 24, 645–673.
11.
ColganS. E.LanterE.McComishC.WatsonL. R.CraisE. R.BaranekG. T. (2006). Analysis of social interaction gestures in infants with autism. Child Neuropsychology: A Journal on Normal and Abnormal Development in Childhood and Adolescence, 12, 307–319.
12.
CraisE.DayD.CoxC. (2004). The intersection of the development of gestures and intentionality. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 47, 678–694.
13.
CraisE.WatsonL.BaranekG. (2009). Use of gesture development in profiling children’s prelinguistic communication skills. American Journal of Speech–Language Pathology, 18, 95–108.
14.
CressC. J.MarvinC. A. (2003). Common questions about AAC services in early intervention. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 19, 254–272.
15.
DziukM. A.Gidley LarsonJ. C.ApostuA.MahoneE. M.DendklaM. B.MostofskyS. H. (2007). Dyspraxia in autism: Association with motor, social, and communicative deficits. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 49, 734–739.
16.
FrostL.BondyA. (2002). Picture exchange communication system training manual (2nd ed.). Newark, DE: Pyramid Education Products.
17.
GreenspanS. I.WeiderS. (1999). A functional developmental method to autism spectrum disorders. The Association for Persons With Severe Handicaps, 24(3), 147–161.
18.
HiltonJ.BraddockB.FichthornK.WengP.WeillV. (2009, November). Motor hand acts and gesture productions in children with autism. Poster presented at the Annual Convention of the American-Speech–Language–Hearing Association, New Orleans, LA.
19.
IversonJ. M. (2010). Developing language in a developing body: The relationship between motor development and language development. Journal of Child Language, 37, 229–261.
20.
IversonJ. M.FaganM. K. (2004). Infant vocal–motor coordination: Precursor to the gesture–speech system?Child Development, 75, 1053–1066.
21.
IversonJ. M.Goldin-MeadowS. (2005). Gesture paves the way for language development. Psychological Science, 16, 367–371.
22.
IversonJ. M.ThelenE. (1999). Hand, mouth, and brain: The dynamic emergence of speech and gesture. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 6(11-12), 19–40.
23.
IversonJ. M.WozniakR. H. (2007). Variation in vocal–motor development in infant siblings of children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 158–170.
24.
LordC.RutterM.DiLavoreP. C.RisiS.GothamK.BishopS. L. (2012). Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2) manual (Part 1): Modules 1–4. Torrance, CA: Western Psychological Services.
25.
LovaasO. I. (1977). The autistic child: Language development through behavior modification. New York, NY: Irvington Publications.
26.
LovaasO. I. (1987). Behavioral treatment and normal educational and intellectual functioning in young autistic children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 3–9.
27.
NicoladisE.MayberryR. I.GeneseeF. (1999). Gesture and early bilingual development. Developmental Psychology, 35, 514–546.
28.
OzonoffS.MacariS.YoungG.GoldringS.ThompsonM.RogersS. (2008). Atypical object exploration at 12 months of age is associated with autism in a prospective sample. Autism, 12, 457–472.
29.
RogersS. J.HepburnS. L.StackhouseT.WehnerE. (2003). Imitation performance in toddlers with autism and those with other developmental disorders. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44, 763–781.
30.
SchoplerE.ReichlerR. J.RennerB. R. (1988). The Childhood Autism Rating Scale. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.
31.
SigafoosJ.WoodyattG.DeenD.TaitK.TuckerM.Roberts-PennellD.PittendreighN. (2000). Identifying potential communicative acts in children with developmental and physical disabilities. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 21, 77–86.
32.
WetherbyA. M.PrizantB. M. (2002). Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales: Developmental profile (1st Normed ed.). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
