The relation between language regression and social communicative development of children with autism spectrum disorder

To investigate the relationship between language regression and the subsequent social-communicative development of preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Thirty children with ASD participated in the study and were divided into two groups: with (n=6) and without (n=24) language regression. Language regression was assessed by the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised and the social-communicative development was measured by the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. Of the 30 children who met the criteria for participation in this study, six (20%) had regression of oral language skills, with a mean age of onset of 25 months. There were no statistical significant differences in the social-communicative development between the groups with and without language regression. The findings of this research do not seem to confirm the relationship between the occurrence of language regression and the subsequent impairment on social-communicative development of children with ASD.