This podcast episode, hosted by the , features Dr. Mandy Steiman, a clinical psychologist at theÌýAzrieli Centre for Autism Research (ACAR).Ìý
The focus of this podcast is on thepaper ‘Predictors of language regression and its association with subsequent communication development in children with autism’ ().ÌýAs co-author of the paper, Dr. Steinman sets the scene by detailing what they looked at in this study and gives us a summary.
Dr. Steinman provides clarification, and a definition, as to what language regression looks like, before turning to the methodology used for the research.
She then shares the key findings from the paper and elaborates on her findings that children with language regression walked earlier and spoke their first word nearly a year sooner than the children without regression, and that language regression may have decreased impact over time, and that regressive patterns are not associated with worse outcomes.
Dr. SteinmanÌýfurther discusses what the implications are of these findings for families, and those assessing children and young people for autism, plus emphasizes the importance of not ignoring language regressions.