title: Verbal labels increase the salience of novel objects for preschoolers with typical development and Williams syndrome, but not in autism.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Early research has documented that young children show an increased interest toward objects that are verbally labeled by an adult, compared to objects that are presented without a label. It is unclear whether the same phenomenon occurs in neurodevelopmental disorders affecting social development, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Williams syndrome (WS).
  
  
  METHODS
  The present study used a novel eye-tracking paradigm to determine whether hearing a verbal label increases the salience of novel objects in 35 preschoolers with ASD, 18 preschoolers with WS, and 20 typically developing peers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that typically developing children and those with WS, but not those with ASD, spent significantly more time looking at objects that are verbally labeled by an adult, compared to objects that are presented without a label.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In children without ASD, information accompanied by the speaker's verbal label is accorded a "special status," and it is more likely to be attended to. In contrast, children with ASD do not appear to attribute a special salience to labeled objects compared to non-labeled objects. This result is consistent with the notion that reduced responsivity to pedagogical cues hinders social learning in young children with ASD.
authors.affiliation: A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University, 3020 Market Street, Suite 560, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3734 USA ; Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Giacomo
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4034-9157
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vivanti
authors.affiliation: Developmental Neuromotor and Cognition Lab, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Darren R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Hocking
authors.affiliation: Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fanning
authors.affiliation: Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dissanayake
keywords: Autism; Referential communication; Social learning; Williams syndrome