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Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders pp 1–6Cite as

Speech/Communication Disabilities

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Synonyms

Communication disorder; Language impairment/disorder; Speech impairment/disorder

Short Description or Definition

Speech/communication impairments are among the core features of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Although enormous variability in the development of speech and language is observed in individuals with ASD, even those who have high cognitive and language abilities exhibit some type of communication disability. Deficits can occur at the nonverbal level (e.g., gestures, facial expressions, eye gaze), paralinguistic level (e.g., prosody, intonation), and linguistic level (e.g., language, speech). Communication deficits in the social use of speech and language are particularly salient. Research suggests that a subset of children with ASD also have grammatical deficits similar to children with specific language impairment. In addition, speech sound disorders are evident in a subset of children with ASD. Approximately 20–40% of individuals with autism never develop spoken...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Speech Pathology and Audiology, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Maura Moyle & Steven Long

Authors
  1. Maura Moyle
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  2. Steven Long
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maura Moyle .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, CT, USA

    Fred R. Volkmar

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Moyle, M., Long, S. (2017). Speech/Communication Disabilities. In: Volkmar, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_1704-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_1704-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8

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