Exploring the Utility of the Quick Interactive Language Screener in Young Autistic Children
Mia DiGiorgio, Kelly Steen, Thuy Buonocore, Rhiannon Luyster, Sudha ArunachalamBackground & Aims
Measuring emerging language in young autistic children is notoriously difficult. Conventional approaches—including standardized assessment, caregiver report, and natural language samples—offer valuable information but also have their respective limitations. The Quick Interactive Language Screener (QUILS) is a newer approach that has proven useful in non-autistic children. It is a computer-based tool designed to screen early language comprehension skills in vocabulary and syntax, as well as the processes underlying word learning. The present investigation aims to explore the usefulness of the QUILS when used with young autistic children, in terms of (1) correlations across the QUILS subtests and (2) correlations between the QUILS and other frequently used language measures (CDI-III vocabulary, CDI-III sentences, natural language sample metrics including lexical diversity and MLU, and Vineland-3).
Methods
Secondary data analysis was used to explore a subset of participants derived from a national remote (i.e., Zoom-based) study on language development in children with autism. Participants (N = 54) aged 38–71 months (
Results
The three subtests of the QUILS showed high correlations with each other (all
Conclusions
These results indicate that with young autistic children, the subtests of the QUILS cohere with each other, and the QUILS (overall) converges with other measures of emergent language.
Implications
These findings indicate that the QUILS may be a useful addition to the toolbox of early language assessment in autism. Our preliminary findings suggest that the QUILS is feasible for use with young autistic children and that it may be a useful complement to other instruments, providing promising directions for quantification of language skills using computer-based, remote administration.