Comparison of Language Features, Autism Spectrum Symptoms in Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Language Delay, and Healthy Controls.

INTRODUCTION: Language and communication is very important in social, emotional, and cognitive development of children. Delay in language is the first complaint for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or developmental language delay (DLD). In this study it is aimed to evaluate and compare language profiles and autistic symptoms between children diagnosed with ASD, DLD, and healthy controls.
METHOD: Twenty-six children who are diagnosed with ASD, 43 children who are diagnosed with DLD, and 47 healthy controls are included to study; and all children are in the age of 48-72 months. Test of Early Language Development was used to evaluate language profiles, and autism spectrum symptoms were evaluated with social communication questionnaire (SCQ).
RESULTS: The sociodemographic features of groups were similar. The statistical significant differences were found in all language subscales and subscales of SCQ among three groups. Both children who were diagnosed with ASD and DLD had more autism spectrum symptoms when compared to controls. DISCUSSION: In present study, it is indicated that developmental language trajectories are different in ASD and DLD group. Children, who are diagnosed with ASD, have more receptive language difficulties while children, who are diagnosed with DLD, have more language difficulties in expressive language area. The finding, children who are diagnosed with DLD have more autistic symptoms, shows that autistic symptoms are related with language development, and it is very important to give preference to language education in the treatment.