Previous literature has suggested that articulation
and phonological skills are a relative strength in
children with ASD (Kjelgaard & Tager-Flusberg,
2001; Rapin & Dunn, 2003). However, this conclusion
could be an underestimate of the extent to
which these children experience difficulties with
this aspect of speech and language. One possible
explanation for studies underestimating the number
of children may relate to methodology used to
identify difficulties. In large N studies, such as those
conducted by Kjelgaard and Tager-Flusberg (2001)
and Rapin et al. (2009), single word articulation tests were scored only on a right/wrong basis, giving no
information about the nature of the errors. Moreover,
typically developing children of school age, or
at least over the age of 7-years, are expected to score
at ceiling level. However, the two studies of Rapin
et al. and Kjelgaard and Tager-Flusberg, reported
that many children made a small number of errors.
The finding that many children with autism make a
small number of errors is consistent with the results
of our study, where a sizeable proportion (41%) had
a small number of errors in their speech. In children
of school age, with and without ASD, even a small
number of errors can constitute a significant speech
disorder, or at least make their speech stand out as
different from their peers.