1. Ellawadi AB, Weismer SE. {{Using Spoken Language Benchmarks to Characterize the Expressive Language Skills of Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {Am J Speech Lang Pathol}. 2015.
Purpose: Spoken language benchmarks proposed by Tager-Flusberg et al. (2009) were used to characterize communication profiles of toddlers with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and to investigate whether there were differences in variables hypothesized to influence language development at different benchmark levels. Method: The communication abilities of a large sample of toddlers with ASD (N = 105) were characterized in terms of spoken language benchmarks. The toddlers were grouped according to these benchmarks to investigate whether there were differences in selected variables across benchmark groups at a mean age of 2 (1/2) years. Results: The majority of children in the sample presented with uneven communication profiles, with relative strengths in phonology and significant weaknesses in pragmatics. When children were grouped according to one expressive language domain across-group differences were observed in response to joint attention and gestures, but not cognition or restricted and repetitive behaviors. Conclusion: The spoken language benchmarks are useful for characterizing early communication profiles and investigating features that influence expressive language growth.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
2. Pack A, Colozzo P, Bernhardt BM, Radanov B, Rosebush R, Marinova-Todd SH. {{A case study on vocal loudness with a young adult with autism spectrum disorder and developmental delay}}. {Am J Speech Lang Pathol}. 2015.
Purpose: This clinical report describes an exploratory case study addressing reduction of vocal loudness in a young adult with history of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and developmental delay. The need for a short-term pull-out individual intervention arose from his participation in the Advancing Language and Literacy (ALL) group, a program that provides support for enhancement of speech-language-literacy skills for young adults with developmental disabilities. Method: The participant attended individual treatment sessions weekly for nine sessions, all of which were digitally audio-recorded. Client awareness of different loudness levels was first established using non-speech sounds and speech samples. Loudness in spontaneous speech was monitored with support of verbal and visual feedback in the individual sessions, and tracked in individual sessions as well as the ALL group, which served as a generalization context. Results: In the individual sessions, the participant’s spontaneous production of acceptable volume improved from 42% to 92% of utterances. Observation of group participation indicated generalization, with the majority of utterances produced post-treatment at an acceptable volume. Conclusions: This report emphasizes suprasegmental aspects as a dimension of communicative competence and highlights the need for continued intervention research and services for young adults with developmental disabilities.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
3. Tang J, Falkmer M, Horlin C, Tan T, Vaz S, Falkmer T. {{Face Recognition and Visual Search Strategies in Autism Spectrum Disorders: Amending and Extending a Recent Review by Weigelt et al}}. {PLoS One}. 2015; 10(8): e0134439.
The purpose of this review was to build upon a recent review by Weigelt et al. which examined visual search strategies and face identification between individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and typically developing peers. Seven databases, CINAHL Plus, EMBASE, ERIC, Medline, Proquest, PsychInfo and PubMed were used to locate published scientific studies matching our inclusion criteria. A total of 28 articles not included in Weigelt et al. met criteria for inclusion into this systematic review. Of these 28 studies, 16 were available and met criteria at the time of the previous review, but were mistakenly excluded; and twelve were recently published. Weigelt et al. found quantitative, but not qualitative, differences in face identification in individuals with ASD. In contrast, the current systematic review found both qualitative and quantitative differences in face identification between individuals with and without ASD. There is a large inconsistency in findings across the eye tracking and neurobiological studies reviewed. Recommendations for future research in face recognition in ASD were discussed.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
4. Vabalas A, Freeth M. {{Brief Report: Patterns of Eye Movements in Face to Face Conversation are Associated with Autistic Traits: Evidence from a Student Sample}}. {J Autism Dev Disord}. 2015.
The current study investigated whether the amount of autistic traits shown by an individual is associated with viewing behaviour during a face-to-face interaction. The eye movements of 36 neurotypical university students were recorded using a mobile eye-tracking device. High amounts of autistic traits were neither associated with reduced looking to the social partner overall, nor with reduced looking to the face. However, individuals who were high in autistic traits exhibited reduced visual exploration during the face-to-face interaction overall, as demonstrated by shorter and less frequent saccades. Visual exploration was not related to social anxiety. This study suggests that there are systematic individual differences in visual exploration during social interactions and these are related to amount of autistic traits.
