Gesture use in children with autism spectrum disorder: a scoping review

Purpose This study reviewed the literature examining type and frequency of gesture use in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in comparison to other populations. The findings can inform future studies and programs targeting the use of gestures as an early indicator of ASD. Methods A six step search procedure was utilized to identify all articles exploring gesture use in children with ASD in comparison to other populations. Articles meeting inclusion criteria were double coded by the investigators with 97% agreement. Results examining type and frequency of gesture were synthesized and three common themes were identified: comparison group(s), age of participants with ASD, and gesture terminology. Results A total of 32 studies met inclusion criteria for this study. Of these studies, nine exclusively measured type of gesture, 17 exclusively measured frequency, and 6 measured both type and frequency. Results indicate that children with ASD used different types and frequency of gesture in comparison to other populations. The most studied age range was 4–5 years and most studies used typically developing children as the comparison group. Gesture terminology and definition were extremely variable. Conclusions Children with ASD are using different types and frequencies of gesture when compared to other populations. More research including younger and more diverse populations is needed to translate these findings into clinical practice. Additionally, there is a need for more consistent use of gesture terminology and definition

Refining best practices for the diagnosis of autism: A comparison between individual healthcare practitioner diagnosis and transdisciplinary assessment.

The purpose of this study is to compare the diagnostic decision-making of individual healthcare practitioners against that of a transdisciplinary team. Despite national recognition of transdisciplinary assessment as the gold standard diagnostic approach, autism is most frequently diagnosed by individuals working independently in a variety of disciplines. The current study examined how closely these individual practitioners make diagnoses matching that of a transdisciplinary team. Twenty professionals from five different disciplines viewed videotape clips of fifteen children previously assessed by a transdisciplinary team. Results confirmed that individual healthcare practitioners matched the transdisciplinary team diagnosis on average only 65.6% of the time. Pediatricians were the least accurate diagnosticians compared to the transdisciplinary team with an accuracy rate of only 59.8%. Implications of these results are discussed with respect to the ways in which team transdisciplinary assessments overcome the limitations of individual practitioner diagnosis

Embodiment in Early Development: Exploring the Relationships between Sensorimotor Skills, Gesture, and Language

Purpose: This study examined the relationship between sensorimotor abilities, gesture, and language in prelinguistic typically developing children from an embodied cognition perspective. Method: Participants included a total of 54 typically developing infants and toddlers between the ages of 9 months and 15 months. All participants were administered the Mullen’s Scale of Early Learning (MSEL) and two gesture samples were obtained and coded. The MSEL was used to analyze sensorimotor and language abilities which were explored in relation to gesture. Results: Results established that sensorimotor skills are related to gesture and expressive language, but not receptive language. Visual reception was most highly related to gesture whereas gross motor skills were most highly related to expressive language. Conclusion: This study supports an embodied development perspective with sensorimotor skills relating to gesture and language development. We emphasize the need for interdisciplinary collaboration in treatment and assessment of children, considering the entire developmental profile