The study compared the vocal production and language learning environments of 26 young children with autism spectrum disorder
(ASD) to 78 typically developing children using measures derived from automated vocal analysis. A digital language processor
and audio-processing algorithms measured the amount of adult words to children and the amount of vocalizations they produced
during 12-h recording periods in their natural environments. The results indicated significant differences between typically
developing children and children with ASD in the characteristics of conversations, the number of conversational turns, and
in child vocalizations that correlated with parent measures of various child characteristics. Automated measurement of the
language learning environment of young children with ASD reveals important differences from the environments experienced by
typically developing children.
Keywords Autism - Language development - Assessment - Conversational turn-taking - Language input - Automated vocal analysis