Socioeconomic Factors Account for Variability in Language Skills in Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Objective: Although no longer required for a diagnosis, language delays are extremely common in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Factors associated with socioeconomic status (SES) have broad-reaching impact on language development in early childhood. Despite recent advances in characterizing autism in early childhood, the relationship between SES and language development in ASD has not received much attention. The objective of this study was to examine whether toddlers and preschoolers with ASD from low-resource families are more likely to experience language delays above and beyond those associated with autism itself.Methods: Developmental and diagnostic assessments including the Mullen Scales of Early Learning, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition, and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales were obtained from 62 young children with ASD and 45 typically developing children aged 15 to 64 months. Sociodemographic information including household income, maternal education, and racial/ethnic identity was obtained from caregivers. Multiple regression models were used to test for associations between socioeconomic indices and language scores.Results: Maternal education accounted for variability in expressive language (EL) and receptive language (RL), with lower SES indices associated with lower language skills, and more so in children with ASD. Conclusion:These results demonstrate that variability in EL and RL skills in young children with autism can be accounted for by socioeconomic variables. These findings highlight the necessity for targeted intervention and effective implementation strategies for children with ASD from low-resource households and communities and for policies designed to improve learning opportunities and access to services for these young children and their families.

Early predictors of language skills at 3 years of age vary based on diagnostic outcome: A baby siblings research consortium study

“…Across all outcome groups, expressive language scores were higher for infants whose mothers attained a college degree compared to infants whose mothers completed some college or less, while Receptive Language scores increased with each successive level of maternal education measured. Previous work has reported that maternal education level may be differentially related to expressive and receptive language skills (Pungello et al, 2009; although see Olson et al, 2021; Reilly et al, 2010), suggesting that the mechanisms underlying language development may differ across these domains of language.…”

“…Other work has documented that supporting mothers in education beyond high school indirectly benefits their children's language development (Magnuson et al, 2009). Positive associations between maternal education level and language skills have also been found for 24-month-old ER infants with and without ASD Swanson et al, 2019) and older children with ASD (Olson et al, 2021). Most studies, however, have not explored how maternal education level interacts with behavioral predictors of language (although see Weismer & Kover, 2015).…”

Disrupted intrinsic connectivity links to language and social deficits in toddlers with autism

“…Nevertheless, fMRI results could benefit from using a template that fits as many subjects as possible. Second, we did not analyze some contextual factors known to affect neurodevelopment including development in young children with ASD, such as family socioeconomic status (Olson et al, 2021a(Olson et al, , 2021b and language exposure at home. Future studies could consider these variables.…”

COVID-19 Induced Environments, Health-Related Quality of Life Outcomes and Problematic Behaviors: Evidence from Children with Syndromic Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…Covariates included in the multivariable models were informed by previous theoretical or empirical models (Olson et al, 2021 ; Thomas et al, 2012 ; Larsson et al, 2005 ) and included: age at assessment (years), English as the main language (yes (referent), no), caregiver’s highest educational qualification, marital status (married (referent), not married), race (white (referent), not white), and income.…”