title: Mechanisms of imitation impairment in autism spectrum disorder.
abstract: Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have difficulties with imitation, though the nature of these remains unclear. In this study, involving 28 preschoolers with ASD (M age = 48 months; 90 % male), 17 matched children with Global Developmental Delay (GDD group; M age = 44 months; 53 % male) and 17 typically developing children (TD group, M age = 52 months; 65 % male), we found that preschoolers with ASD 1) imitate less frequently than both typically developing children and children with GDD; 2) when they do imitate, their imitation is less accurate than that of TD children but similar to that of children with GDD; 3) unlike participants in both comparison groups, preschoolers with ASD use emulation more often than imitation when copying others' actions; 4) they spend less time looking at the model's face and more time looking at her actions; and 5) attentional, social and executive factors underlie different aspects of imitation difficulties in this population. Implications for developmental models of autism are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, School of Psychological Science, La Trobe University, Bundoora Campus, Victoria, 3086, Melbourne, Australia, g.vivanti@latrobe.edu.au.
authors.forename: Giacomo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vivanti
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Trembath
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dissanayake
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000503:physiopathology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D012938:Social Perception
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