title: Brief Report: Imitation of Object-Directed Acts in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
abstract: Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) imitate less than typically developing (TD) children; however, the specific features and causes of this deficit are still unclear. The current study investigates the role of joint engagement, specifically children's visual attention to demonstrations, in an object-directed imitation task. This sample was recruited from an early ASD screening study, which allows for an examination of these behaviors prior to formal diagnosis and ASD-specific intervention. Children with ASD imitated less than TD children; children with other developmental delays showed no significant difference from the two other screen-positive groups. Additionally, only the ASD group showed decreased visual attention, suggesting that early visual attention plays a role in the social learning of children with ASD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, P. O. Box 5010, Atlanta, GA, 30302, USA. agonsiorowski1@student.gsu.edu.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gonsiorowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, P. O. Box 5010, Atlanta, GA, 30302, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Williamson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, P. O. Box 5010, Atlanta, GA, 30302, USA.|A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University, 3020 Market Street, Suite 560, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Diana L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Robins
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior; D008297:Male
keywords: Autism spectrum disorders; Cognitive development; Developmental disabilities; Imitation; Social learning; Visual attention