Language-related abilities in 'unaffected' school-aged siblings of children with ASD

Siblings of children with autisfn spectrum disorder (ASD) who do not have ASP outcomes are more likely than their peers to experience delays in language acquisition as preschoolers. However, less is known about how these siblings are faring when they are school-aged. We examined language-related abilities of 18 siblings with non-ASD outcomes, aged 8-11. On average, siblings performed more poorly than the normative sample in phonological memory and phonological awareness. In contrast, word-level reading was unimpaired. No deficits relative to norms were found on a direct child assessment and parent-report measure of pragmatic language; however, recommendations for further research in this area are made. Comparing two direct child assessments, this sample performed more poorly in pragmatics than receptive/expressive language. Language abilities in siblings of children with ASD is an area ripe for further investigation with larger sample sizes and appropriate comparison groups. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.