Brain imaging shows how nonverbal children with autism have slower response to sounds

Nonverbal children with autism have a delayed responses to simple auditory tones according to new research that measured electrical activity in the brain. The findings could have both prognostic and treatment ramifications for language development. Nonverbal or minimally verbal people who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) make up between 25 and 30% of the total autistic population. Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)’s Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center used state-of-the-art brain imaging techniques to determine how this specific group of children who have autism processes auditory stimuli, which could have important diagnostic and prognostic implications across the autism spectrum. The findings