Oromotor Deficits in Minimally Verbal Children with ASD

项目概要/摘要 影响孤独症最小言语（MV）儿童功能性言语正常习得的因素 (ASD)仍然未知。该研究使用基于计算机的生物力学评估来（1）识别 （2）确定MV ASD儿童的运动缺陷是否 （3）确定运动系统的严重程度是否与运动系统的严重程度有关; 当非语言智商被控制时，缺陷预测沟通发展的障碍;和（4） 确定MV ASD儿童的听觉发育和语言能力如何随时间变化。的 该项目的科学前提是，基于生物力学的评估将产生直接，客观和高度- 关于患有MV ASD的儿童的听力能力的可复制信息。为了实现我们的目标，我们将 从60名MV ASD儿童中获得全面的orbital性能，其中45名年龄和性别匹配， 语言型ASD儿童和45名相似匹配的TD对照，使用非侵入性3D面部运动捕捉 技术.我们还将获得言语和语言能力的临床测量结果，以及几个选定的测量结果。 运动功能的变化将每12个月在三个时间点纵向获得所有测量值。鲁棒 统计建模方法将被用来描述各个模式的变化，在orthopolymer性能 以及言语运动技能的获得与其他发展领域之间的联系 (i.e.,语言和通用电机）。从这项研究中获得的信息将提供基础 应对当前临床和科学挑战所需的知识，包括改善早期发现 自闭症障碍，预测沟通结果，并确定神经生物学和遗传 影响这一人群沟通发展的机制。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The factors that disrupt the normal acquisition of functional speech in minimally verbal (MV) children with autism (ASD) remain unknown. The proposed study uses computer-based biomechanic assessment to (1) Identify oromotor impairments in children with MV ASD; (2) Determine if the motor deficits in children with MV ASD are specific to the oromotor system or extend globally across motor systems; (3) Determine if the severity of oromotor deficit predicts impairments in communication development when nonverbal IQ is controlled for; and (4) Determine how oromotor development and language ability in children with MV ASD change over time. The scientific premise for this project is that biomechanic-based assessments will yield direct, objective, and highly- replicable information about the oromotor capabilities of children with MV ASD. To accomplish our aims, we will obtain comprehensive profiles of oromotor performance from 60 children with MV ASD, 45 age- and sex-matched verbal children with ASD, and 45 similarly matched TD controls using non-invasive, 3D facial-motion capture technology. We will also obtain clinical measures of speech and language ability, and several selected measure of gross motor function. All measures will be obtained longitudinally every 12 months for three time points. Robust statistical modeling methods will be used to characterize individual patterns of change in oromotor performance and the association between the acquisition of speech motor skills and those in other developmental domains (i.e., language and general-motor). The information obtained from this study will provide the foundational knowledge needed to address ongoing clinical and scientific challenges including improving early detection of autism impairments, predicting communication outcomes, and identifying the neurobiological and genetic mechanisms affecting communication development in this population.