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Dwyer P, Sillas A, Prieto M, Camp E, Nordahl CW, Rivera SM. Hyper-focus, sticky attention, and springy attention in young autistic children: Associations with sensory behaviors and cognitive ability. Autism Res 2024. [PMID: 38840328 DOI: 10.1002/aur.3174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
The autistic-developed monotropism account suggests that atypical, domain-general attentional hyper-focus on interests is a central aspect of autism, but domain-general attention differences in autism can manifest differently. Prior research suggests autistic children are often slow to disengage attention from stimuli-a pattern often called "sticky attention"-and that they can show reduced novelty preference. These attentional patterns could influence sensory experiences and learning. We used eye-tracking to investigate novelty preference and "sticky attention" in young autistic children; we also examined whether attentional patterns were related to cognitive abilities and caregiver-reported sensory responsiveness. A total of 46 autistic and 28 nonautistic participants, aged between 2 and 4 years, provided usable data. We found no evidence that autistic children exhibited greater "sticky attention" than nonautistics, but "sticky attention" in autism was associated with more caregiver-reported sensory hyper-responsiveness, seeking/interests, and enhanced perception. Autistic children also nonsignificantly trended toward exhibiting reduced novelty preference. Unexpectedly, the time-course of this trending novelty preference difference implied it was not driven by reduced orienting to novelty, but increased returning to already-familiarized stimuli: what we call "springy attention." Exploratory analyses of data from the attentional disengagement task suggest autistic participants may have exhibited greater "springy attention," though further research with paradigms optimized for measuring this construct should confirm this. Importantly, "springy attention" was robustly related to reduced cognitive abilities and greater caregiver-reported hypo-responsiveness. Thus, this study illuminates two distinct domain-general attentional patterns, each with distinct correlates in young autistic children, which could have important implications for understanding autistic children's learning, development, and experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Dwyer
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA
- MIND Institute, UC Davis Health, Sacramento, California, USA
- Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
| | - Andre Sillas
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | - Melanie Prieto
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA
| | - Emily Camp
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | - Christine Wu Nordahl
- MIND Institute, UC Davis Health, Sacramento, California, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UC Davis Health, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Susan M Rivera
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA
- MIND Institute, UC Davis Health, Sacramento, California, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
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Dwyer P, Williams ZJ, Vukusic S, Saron CD, Rivera SM. Habituation of auditory responses in young autistic and neurotypical children. Autism Res 2023; 16:1903-1923. [PMID: 37688470 PMCID: PMC10651062 DOI: 10.1002/aur.3022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023]
Abstract
Prior studies suggest that habituation of sensory responses is reduced in autism and that diminished habituation could be related to atypical autistic sensory experiences, for example, by causing brain responses to aversive stimuli to remain strong over time instead of being suppressed. While many prior studies exploring habituation in autism have repeatedly presented identical stimuli, other studies suggest group differences can still be observed in habituation to intermittent stimuli. The present study explored habituation of electrophysiological responses to auditory complex tones of varying intensities (50-80 dB SPL), presented passively in an interleaved manner, in a well-characterized sample of 127 autistic (MDQ = 65.41, SD = 20.54) and 79 typically developing (MDQ = 106.02, SD = 11.50) children between 2 and 5 years old. Habituation was quantified as changes in the amplitudes of single-trial responses to tones of each intensity over the course of the experiment. Habituation of the auditory N2 response was substantially reduced in autistic participants as compared to typically developing controls, although diagnostic groups did not clearly differ in habituation of the P1 response. Interestingly, the P1 habituated less to loud 80 dB sounds than softer sounds, whereas the N2 habituated less to soft 50 dB sounds than louder sounds. No associations were found between electrophysiological habituation and cognitive ability or participants' caregiver-reported sound tolerance (Sensory Profile Hyperacusis Index). The results present study results extend prior research suggesting habituation of certain sensory responses is reduced in autism; however, they also suggest that habituation differences observed using this study's paradigm might not be a primary driver of autistic participants' real-world sound intolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Dwyer
- Department of Psychology, UC Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Center for Mind and Brain, UC Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- MIND Institute, UC Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Zachary J. Williams
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Vanderbilt University School of
Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Hearing & Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University
Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN,
USA
- Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, Vanderbilt University,
Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center,
Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Svjetlana Vukusic
- Center for Mind and Brain, UC Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of General Practice, Melbourne Medical School, the
University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Clifford D. Saron
- Center for Mind and Brain, UC Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- MIND Institute, UC Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Susan M. Rivera
- Department of Psychology, UC Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Center for Mind and Brain, UC Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- MIND Institute, UC Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
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Lorang E, Hanania A, Venker CE. Parent Certainty and Consistency When Completing Vocabulary Checklists in Young Autistic Children. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2023; 66:2750-2765. [PMID: 37467394 PMCID: PMC10555466 DOI: 10.1044/2023_jslhr-22-00623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Using a novel parent report measure, this study investigated whether asking parents to rate their certainty when reporting on child vocabulary skills provided additional insight into parent report and emerging language abilities in young autistic children. Specifically, we investigated whether parent certainty varied based on whether the child was reported to understand, understand and say, or neither understand nor say the word and whether standardized measures of expressive and receptive language abilities and/or autistic traits predicted parent certainty. Lastly, we investigated whether certainty was associated with inconsistency in parent report of child word knowledge. METHOD Twenty-one parents and their autistic children ages 2-5 years participated. One parent per child completed the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (MCDI) Words and Gestures form and a custom vocabulary checklist including 24 object nouns from the MCDI. Within the custom form, parents indicated whether their child understood, understood and said, or neither understood nor said 24 target nouns and reported how certain they were about their responses using a 5-point scale. Expressive language, receptive language, and autistic traits were measured via direct assessment using standardized measures. RESULTS Parent certainty varied widely and was higher for words the parents reported the children understood and said compared to that for words children either understood or neither understood nor said. Certainty ratings were higher when a child had higher standardized receptive and expressive language scores. Lastly, parent certainty was associated with reporting consistency, clarifying previous findings of inconsistencies in parent report of child vocabulary. CONCLUSION Findings from this study indicate that measuring parent certainty provides critical information when assessing early vocabulary skills in autistic children. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.23671497.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Lorang
- Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Michigan State University, East Lansing
| | - Alexandra Hanania
- Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Michigan State University, East Lansing
| | - Courtney E. Venker
- Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Michigan State University, East Lansing
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Chan MMY, Chan MC, Yeung MK, Wang SM, Liu D, Han YMY. Aberrant prefrontal functional connectivity during verbal fluency test is associated with reading comprehension deficits in autism spectrum disorder: An fNIRS study. Front Psychol 2022; 13:984777. [PMID: 36204740 PMCID: PMC9530129 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.984777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show marked difficulties in reading comprehension, a complex cognitive skill fundamental to successful daily functioning that is associated with core executive functions. However, the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying reading comprehension deficits in these children remain elusive. Twenty-one right-handed males with high-functioning ASD (mean age = 10.24 years) and 23 age-, IQ-, educational level-, sex- and handedness-matched typically developing (TD; mean age = 10.14 years) individuals underwent a reading comprehension test and the semantic verbal fluency test that tapped core executive functions underlying reading comprehension during concurrent prefrontal functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measurement. Participants’ information processing efficiency was also assessed. High-functioning ASD children exhibited general reading comprehension [main effect of group: F(1,40) = 7.58, p = 0.009], selective verbal fluency deficits [Group × category interaction: F(1,42) = 4.90, p = 0.032] and slower processing speed (t42 = 2.36, p = 0.023). Regarding the hemodynamics of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), although ASD individuals showed comparable patterns of PFC brain activation to their healthy counterparts, lower PFC intrahemispheric [main effect of group: F(1,42) = 11.36, p = 0.002] and interhemispheric [main effect of group: F(1,42) = 7.79, p = 0.008] functional connectivity were evident during the semantic verbal fluency test. At the whole-group level, poorer reading comprehension performance was associated with poorer performance in the semantic verbal fluency test (r42 = 0.508, p < 0.001). Moreover, poorer semantic verbal fluency test performance was associated with slower information processing speed (r42 = –0.312, p = 0.044), which is associated with reduced left medial PFC functional connectivity (r42 = –0.319, p = 0.040). Abnormal intrahemispheric and interhemispheric prefrontal hypoconnectivity is associated with deficits in executive processes essential for reading comprehension in ASD. Our study has provided important implications for the neuropsychological and neurophysiological mechanisms underlying reading comprehension deficits in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melody M. Y. Chan
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Ming-Chung Chan
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Michael K. Yeung
- Department of Psychology, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Shu-Mei Wang
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Duo Liu
- Department of Special Education and Counselling, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Yvonne M. Y. Han
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
- University Research Facility in Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience (UBSN), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
- *Correspondence: Yvonne M. Y. Han,
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Venker CE, Johnson JR. Electronic Toys Decrease the Quantity and Lexical Diversity of Spoken Language Produced by Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Age-Matched Children With Typical Development. Front Psychol 2022; 13:929589. [PMID: 35846691 PMCID: PMC9286016 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.929589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Many young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have language delays. Play-based interactions present a rich, naturalistic context for supporting language and communication development, but electronic toys may compromise the quality of play interactions. This study examined how electronic toys impact the quantity and lexical diversity of spoken language produced by children with ASD and age-matched children with typical development (TD), compared to traditional toys without electronic features. Twenty-eight parent-child dyads (14 per group) played with both electronic and traditional toy sets in a counter-balanced order. We transcribed child speech during both play sessions and derived the number of utterances and number of different word (NDW) roots per minute that children produced. Children with ASD and children with TD talked significantly less and produced significantly fewer unique words during electronic toy play than traditional toy play. In this way, children appear to take a “backseat” to electronic toys, decreasing their communicative contributions to play-based social interactions with their parents. These findings highlight the importance of understanding how toy type can affect parent-child play interactions and the subsequent learning opportunities that may be created. Play-based interventions for children with ASD may be most effective when they incorporate traditional toys, rather than electronic toys.
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Dwyer P, Takarae Y, Zadeh I, Rivera SM, Saron CD. A Multidimensional Investigation of Sensory Processing in Autism: Parent- and Self-Report Questionnaires, Psychophysical Thresholds, and Event-Related Potentials in the Auditory and Somatosensory Modalities. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:811547. [PMID: 35620155 PMCID: PMC9127065 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.811547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Reconciling results obtained using different types of sensory measures is a challenge for autism sensory research. The present study used questionnaire, psychophysical, and neurophysiological measures to characterize autistic sensory processing in different measurement modalities. Methods Participants were 46 autistic and 21 typically developing 11- to 14-year-olds. Participants and their caregivers completed questionnaires regarding sensory experiences and behaviors. Auditory and somatosensory event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded as part of a multisensory ERP task. Auditory detection, tactile static detection, and tactile spatial resolution psychophysical thresholds were measured. Results Sensory questionnaires strongly differentiated between autistic and typically developing individuals, while little evidence of group differences was observed in psychophysical thresholds. Crucially, the different types of measures (neurophysiological, psychophysical, questionnaire) appeared to be largely independent of one another. However, we unexpectedly found autistic participants with larger auditory Tb ERP amplitudes had reduced hearing acuity, even though all participants had hearing acuity in the non-clinical range. Limitations The autistic and typically developing groups were not matched on cognitive ability, although this limitation does not affect our main analyses regarding convergence of measures within autism. Conclusion Overall, based on these results, measures in different sensory modalities appear to capture distinct aspects of sensory processing in autism, with relatively limited convergence between questionnaires and laboratory-based tasks. Generally, this might reflect the reality that laboratory tasks are often carried out in controlled environments without background stimuli to compete for attention, a context which may not closely resemble the busier and more complex environments in which autistic people's atypical sensory experiences commonly occur. Sensory questionnaires and more naturalistic laboratory tasks may be better suited to explore autistic people's real-world sensory challenges. Further research is needed to replicate and investigate the drivers of the unexpected association we observed between auditory Tb ERP amplitudes and hearing acuity, which could represent an important confound for ERP researchers to consider in their studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Dwyer
- Neurocognitive Development Lab, Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Yukari Takarae
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Iman Zadeh
- Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Oracle Corporation, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Susan M. Rivera
- Neurocognitive Development Lab, Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Clifford D. Saron
- MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Saron Lab, Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
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Lan Z, Xu S, Yu X, Yu Z, Li M, Chen F, Liu Y, Wang T, Wu Y, Gan Y, Jiang G. Functional Connectivity Underlying Symptoms in Preschool Boys With Autism: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:844821. [PMID: 35495045 PMCID: PMC9047045 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.844821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BackgroundSingle-sex children have been regarded as one of the best subjects to understand the abnormal development patterns of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). However, the functional connectivity (FC) behind their symptoms is still unknown.MethodsBased on FC analysis, the acquired resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data sets, including 86 boys with ASD and 54 normal controls (NC), were used to detect the neural synchronous activity between brain regions. Pearson correlation analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between the abnormal FC value and clinical features.ResultsIndividuals with ASD showed enhanced FC between the right calcarine and the right lingual gyrus (LG). The right medial orbital frontal cortex also showed increased FC with bilateral inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) [two-tailed, voxel-level p < 0.001, gaussian random field (GRF) correction, cluster-level p < 0.05]. We did not find a correlation between the abnormal FC value and clinical scales.ConclusionOur study reveals a possible relationship between atypical visual attention and poor learning ability in subjects with ASD, and delayed social language development may be a secondary symptom to ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhihong Lan
- Department of Medical Imaging, Zhuhai People’s Hospital, Zhuhai Hospital Affiliated With Jinan University, Zhuhai, China
| | - Shoujun Xu
- Department of Radiology, Shenzhen Children’s Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xiangrong Yu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Zhuhai People’s Hospital, Zhuhai Hospital Affiliated With Jinan University, Zhuhai, China
| | - Zhenjie Yu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Zhuhai People’s Hospital, Zhuhai Hospital Affiliated With Jinan University, Zhuhai, China
| | - Meng Li
- Department of Medical Imaging, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Feng Chen
- Department of Medical Imaging, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yu Liu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Zhuhai People’s Hospital, Zhuhai Hospital Affiliated With Jinan University, Zhuhai, China
| | - Tianyue Wang
- Department of Medical Imaging, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yunfan Wu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yungen Gan
- Department of Radiology, Shenzhen Children’s Hospital, Shenzhen, China
- *Correspondence: Yungen Gan,
| | - Guihua Jiang
- Department of Medical Imaging, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, China
- Guihua Jiang,
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Mathée-Scott J, Ellis Weismer S. Naturalistic parent-child reading frequency and language development in toddlers with and without autism. AUTISM & DEVELOPMENTAL LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENTS 2022; 7:23969415221136740. [PMID: 36438160 PMCID: PMC9685215 DOI: 10.1177/23969415221136740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS The efficacy of parent-child reading for supporting language development has been well-established in the neurotypical (NT) literature. For children with autism spectrum disorder, (ASD) who may be at risk for delays in language development, prior research has shown promise for shared book-reading interventions. Yet there has been limited research on naturalistic parent-child reading with autistic children to date. The present study aimed to fill this missing link in the current literature. METHODS Fifty-seven autistic toddlers participated at two developmental time points: Time 1 (Mage = 30.4 months) and Time 2 (Mage = 43.8 months). An NT control group (N = 31) was matched on age to a subset of the ASD group (N = 33). We assessed group differences in parent-child reading frequency between age-matched NT and autistic groups. Using a one-year follow-up design, we evaluated the relationship between parent-child reading and autistic children's language development. RESULTS Cross-group comparisons revealed that parents of age-matched NT children reported significantly more frequent weekly parent-child reading than parents of autistic toddlers. After a one-year follow-up with the autistic group, within-group analyses revealed that greater frequency of parent-child reading (controlling for maternal education, books in the home, and autism symptom severity) was associated with larger growth in autistic toddlers' receptive and expressive language skills. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS These findings have important clinical implications as they emphasize the potential of parent-child reading for supporting autistic children's language development. Findings demonstrate that frequency of parent-child reading is associated with language development over one year. Findings also demonstrate that parents of autistic children engage in less frequent parent-child reading than parents of age-matched NT peers, suggesting these parents may face more barriers to implementing parent-child reading than parents of NT children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janine Mathée-Scott
- Janine Mathée-Scott, Waisman Center,
University of Wisconsin–Madison, Room 449, 1500 Highland Ave., Madison, WI
53705, USA.
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Venker CE, Neumann D, Aladé F. Visual perceptual salience and novel referent selection in children with and without autism spectrum disorder. AUTISM & DEVELOPMENTAL LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENTS 2022; 7:23969415221085476. [PMID: 36382081 PMCID: PMC9620699 DOI: 10.1177/23969415221085476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Many young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate striking delays in early vocabulary development. Experimental studies that teach the meanings of novel nonwords can determine the effects of linguistic and attentional factors. One factor that may affect novel referent selection in children with ASD is visual perceptual salience-how interesting (i.e., striking) stimuli are on the basis of their visual properties. The goal of the current study was to determine how the perceptual salience of objects affected novel referent selection in children with ASD and children who are typically developing (TD) of similar ages (mean age 3-4 years). METHODS Using a screen-based experimental paradigm, children were taught the names of four unfamiliar objects: two high-salience objects and two low-salience objects. Their comprehension of the novel words was assessed in low-difficulty and high-difficulty trials. Gaze location was determined from video by trained research assistants. RESULTS Contrary to initial predictions, findings indicated that high perceptual salience disrupted novel referent selection in the children with ASD but facilitated attention to the target object in age-matched TD peers. The children with ASD showed no significant evidence of successful novel referent selection in the high-difficulty trials. Exploratory reaction time analyses suggested that the children with autism showed "stickier" attention-had more difficulty disengaging (i.e., looking away)-from high-salience distracter images than low-salience distracter images, even though the two images were balanced in salience for any given test trial. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS These findings add to growing evidence that high perceptual salience has the potential to disrupt novel referent selection in children with ASD. These results underscore the complexity of novel referent selection and highlight the importance of taking the immediate testing context into account. In particular, it is important to acknowledge that screen-based assessments and screen-based learning activities used with children with ASD are not immune to the effects of lower level visual features, such as perceptual salience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney E. Venker
- Courtney E. Venker, Michigan State
University, College of Communication Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Communicative
Sciences and Disorders, East Lansing, MI, USA.
| | - Dominik Neumann
- Leibniz-Institut für
Wissensmedien (IWM), Tübingen, Germany, Tubingen, Germany
| | - Fashina Aladé
- Department of Advertising and Public Relations,
College of Communication Arts and Sciences, Michigan State
University, East Lansing, MI, USA
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