SummaryThe topic of today's reading was Behavioral Language Assessment: Part 1 (ABLLS-R). One of the assigned readings, Language Assessment and Development in Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorder, featured several key findings from a study of early language abilities in a large sample of toddlers with ASD . They found that although the measures used in this study to assess emerging language skills in toddlers with ASD involved direct assessment, a parent questionnaire, and a parent interview, there was very close agreement between these different measures. Additionally, they found that receptive and expressive language were strongly correlated with a range of general and social cognitive variables and motor skills, and that the best concurrent predictors of receptive and expressive language were gesture use and cognitive ability. non-verbal. Children with autism are now being identified at younger ages, and previous research has consistently shown that early language skills in this population are heterogeneous and an important predictor of later outcomes. The aim of this study was to systematically investigate language in children with autism and to find early correlates of receptive and expressive language in the population. For this study, 164 autistic children aged 18 to 33 months were assessed on several cognitive, linguistic and behavioral measures. The results have important implications for intervention programs targeting this population. Spoken language acquisition should be viewed from a developmental perspective and interventions should target not only training in sound-meaning relationships, but also the broader set of social cognitive skills that are intimately linked to…. .. middle of paper. ....Furthermore, as mentioned in the course, standardized assessments do not separate different types of expressive language, nor do they identify important distinctions and verbal deficits. Thus, they give credit to a child for simply knowing a specific word because he or she is able to recognize the object, but there is no measure of the child's ability to request the object when he or she wants it. for which a defective ability to request desired items when they are absent is not identified by these assessments. Regardless, these standardized tests are required by many school districts and states in order for a child to receive special speech-language services.Discussion Questions1. Does a child have to take a test at each grade level? How do I know when and which test?2. Why, despite language assessments being inaccurate, school still requires some children to take them?