Parental Imitations and Expansions of Child Language Predict Later Language Outcomes of Autistic Preschoolers

Abstract

Both the amount and responsiveness of adult language input contribute to the language development of autistic and non-autistic children. From parent–child interaction footage, we measured the amount of adult language input, overall parent responsiveness, and six discrete parent responsive behaviours (imitations, expansions, open-ended questions, yes/no questions, comments and acknowledgements) to explore which types of responsiveness predicted autistic preschoolers’ language five months later, after controlling for adult language input. We found expansions and particularly imitations to be more important for later language than overall responsiveness. This study emphasises the need to capture what exactly about parent language input influences child language acquisition, and adds to the evidence that imitating and expanding early language might be particularly beneficial for autistic preschoolers.