Studying Understanding Without Speech: Neuroimaging Minimally Speaking Autistic Individuals

• By: Isaiah Tien Grewal Stony Brook University School of Social Welfare LEND Fellowship Program Morgan D. Barense University of Toronto | Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Hospital Karen Chenausky, PhD, CCC-SLP MGH Institute of Health Professions
• July 9th, 2026
• autism research, dyspraxia, fMRI, HD-DOT, language comprehension, minimally speaking autistic individuals, neuroimaging research, nonspeaking autism, Summer 2026 Issue
• 9    0

Minimal speakers (MS) represent one-third of the autism spectrum, yet only 2% of autism research participants (Russell et al., 2019). Research conclusions based on people unlike minimal speakers in significant ways may be skewed, leading to profound misunderstanding. We aim to correct...