scholarly journals Preserved Imitation of Known Gestures in Children with High-Functioning Autism

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joana C. Carmo ◽  
Raffaella I. Rumiati ◽  
Roma Siugzdaite ◽  
Paolo Brambilla
Keyword(s):  
High Functioning Autism ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
High Functioning ◽  
Action Imitation ◽  
Dual Route ◽  
Dual Route Model ◽  
Transitive Gestures ◽  
Better Than

It has been suggested that children with autism are particularly deficient at imitating novel gestures or gestures without goals. In the present study, we asked high-functioning autistic children and age-matched typically developing children to imitate several types of gestures that could be either already known or novel to them. Known gestures either conveyed a communicative meaning (i.e., intransitive) or involved the use of objects (i.e., transitive). We observed a significant interaction between gesture type and group of participants, with children with autism performing known gestures better than novel gestures. However, imitation of intransitive and transitive gestures did not differ across groups. These findings are discussed in light of a dual-route model for action imitation.

scholarly journals Idiom understanding in people with Asperger syndrome/high functioning autism

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 390-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioannis Vogindroukas ◽  
Olga Zikopoulou
Keyword(s):  
Asperger Syndrome ◽  
High Functioning Autism ◽  
The Other ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Communicative Acts ◽  
Idiom Comprehension ◽  
High Functioning ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
Clinic Group

PURPOSE: To extend previous research in the development of idiom comprehension by investigating this ability in children with Asperger Syndrome (AS) or with High Functioning Autism (HFA). METHODS: Three groups participated in the study. The first group consisted of 27 children with AS/HFA (mean age 11.3 years) and the other two consisted of typically developing children and adults, respectively. The Comprehension Test of Idiomatic Phrases (CTIP) was administered to all participants. RESULTS: Children with AS/HFA had lower performance compared to the other two groups. No difference was found in the performance between the two typically developing groups. Also, there was no significant correlation between the IQ and the performance for the children with AS/HFA, while positive correlations were revealed between performance and age for the two groups of children. CONCLUSION: The results provide further evidence that children with AS/HFA have difficulties in understanding idioms and they confirm their tendency to make literal interpretations. These impairments are irrelevant to their intelligence and they affect their communication with others. The understanding of these difficulties is important in order to find ways to limit the confusion and the misinterpretations which are observed during the communicative acts with this clinic group.

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