Innovations In Assessing Cognition In Nonverbal Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Up to 25% of children with autism are labeled nonverbal with the implication that they can neither produce nor comprehend language and may have a restricted and limited cognitive life. In many situations these judgments are based on psychological assessments and behavioral observations only. This proof of principle study draws from experience successfully using event-related brain potentials (ERP) to assess cognitive and language abilities of patients with acquired brain injuries. We describe a study that seeks to determine if speech comprehension can be demonstrated in any of the individuals who have received a nonverbal autism diagnosis and, if such a capacity is demonstrated, to further explore the range of cognitive functions that may exist.