Processes of language acquisition in children with autism: evidence from preferential looking.
Two language acquisition processes (comprehension preceding production of word order, the noun bias) were examined in 2- and 3-year-old children (n=10) with autistic spectrum disorder and in typically developing 21-month-olds (n=13). Intermodal preferential looking was used to assess comprehension of subject-verb-object word order and the tendency to map novel words onto objects rather than actions. Spontaneous speech samples were also collected. Results demonstrated significant comprehension of word order in both groups well before production. Moreover, children in both groups consistently showed the noun bias. Comprehension preceding production and the noun bias appear to be robust processes of language acquisition, observable in both typical and language-impaired populations.
Swensen
Lauren D
LD
Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs 06269-1020, USA. Lauren.Swensen@uconn.edu
Kelley
Elizabeth
E
Fein
Deborah
D
Naigles
Letitia R
LR
D001288:Attention; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D032882:Comprehension; D003210:Concept Formation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D012660:Semantics; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D014825:Vocabulary