Connections Between Motor and Langauge Development in Autism

Motor and language learning are inextricably linked in development—toddlers learn to move their bodies and interact with social partners simultaneously. Previous research shows that caregivers of neurotypical toddlers coordinate their language use with toddlers' real-time actions (e.g., the caregiver says "car" or "drive" as the baby pushes a toy car), which, in turn, supports the toddlers' word learning. The connection between motor behavior and language learning may unfold differently for autistic toddlers, who acquire motor skills later in development and often express motor movements differently than neurotypical toddlers do. To understand motor-language connections in autism, I documented the real-time synchrony between autistic toddlers' motor actions and their language experiences. I video-recorded 38 toddler-caregiver dyads (half autistic, half neurotypical), ages 23- to 62-months-old for an hour at home and measured the moment-to-moment correspondence between toddlers' motor behaviors and caregivers' noun and verb use. Caregivers of neurotypical toddlers said more nouns and manual verbs than did caregivers of autistic toddlers, but whole-body verb use was similar across groups. Caregivers of neurotypical toddlers provided more contingent language—by commenting on the objects toddlers held and the actions they engaged in—than did caregivers of autistic toddlers. All caregivers prompted toddler actions at similar rates. Findings underscore key differences in real-time synchrony between motor and language development for autistic and neurotypical toddlers.