Brief Report: Associations Between Autism Characteristics, Written and Spoken Communication Skills, and Social Interaction Skills in Preschool-Age Children on the Autism Spectrum

Abstract

We used parent-report data from a prospective longitudinal study to better understand the early strengths in written skills often observed in preschoolers on the spectrum. Consistent with previous research, children demonstrated relative strengths in standardized written communication compared to spoken communication scores on the VABS-II. We found no significant links between children’s performance on the written communication subdomain and their autism characteristics or the Social Interaction Deviance Composite score on the CCC-2. Our results emphasize the need for further research into the early strengths in written skills of preschoolers on the spectrum. From a clinical viewpoint, we highlight the need for a comprehensive emergent literacy assessment in this group of children who are at high risk of persistent literacy difficulties.