Language Abilities Associated With Household Income and Parental Education Level in Autistic Children During Early Childhood

Socioeconomic factors, such as poverty, can significantly impact developmental outcomes. While well-studied in neurotypical children, limited research exists on the impact of these factors on autistic children's development, especially in early childhood. We examined the relationships between two socioeconomic factors, household income and parental education, with cognitive and behavioral profiles in a sample of 308 autistic children aged 2-3.5 years. We found that higher household income and parental education level were significantly associated with higher language abilities and lower externalizing behaviors. Moreover, autistic children from families with below-average income had lower language abilities compared to those from families with average or above-average income. The effects of household income and parental education level remained significant even after controlling for one another. Our findings suggest that lower parental education level and household income, particularly among families from the lowest economic backgrounds, significantly impact language abilities in young autistic children and may contribute to the development of externalizing behaviors, a pattern similar to that observed in non-autistic children. Given that early language abilities are predictive of adulthood outcomes in autism, these findings underscore the importance of supporting socioeconomic stability in the first two to three years of life for autistic children and providing appropriate early interventions to promote language development.