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Assessing Spoken Language Development in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

In this chapter, the author discusses assessment of language development in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). According to evidence-based practice, it is vital to evaluate all aspects of communication in order to determine a specific diagnosis or to direct intervention. While this is true for any child suspected of having a language impairment, it is especially true for children also diagnosed with ASD. Although there are a number of accepted standardized measures to evaluate receptive and expressive language and speech articulation, evaluation of pragmatic abilities is often more complicated. With the incidence of children and young adults with ASD, and social (pragmatic) communication disorders, on the rise in all settings, it is vital to thoughtfully consider best practice related to the thorough assessment of communication abilities for those with ASD, from our youngest learners to adolescents.