The criteria for early use of nonvocal communication systems with nonspeaking autistic children.

Criteria to differentiate nonspeaking subjects from speaking autistic preschool-age children were examined. The data on several developmental features previously recorded at 4 1/2 years of age were compared between 10 nonspeaking and 10 speaking children who were followed until late childhood. Total DQ, subscale DQs of intellectual, self-care, and motor ability, and several speech production features (variety of phone categories, distortion in vowels, and disappearance of babbling) were the most distinctive indices between the two groups. We believe that an early use of a nonvocal communication system by autistic children with these features results in more successful outcomes than before.