INTRODUCTION: Difficulties imitating gestures have been found in several studies in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). It has been hypothesized that imitation abilities might be precursors of language abilities in young children with autism. No study on imitation and language abilities in adolescents with ASD has been performed to date. METHODS: Fifteen male adolescents with ASD, 16 male and 13 female controls were compared regarding imitation abilities of upper and lower facial movements, and language skills as assessed by the pragmatic rating scale and the Aachen Aphasia test (AAT). RESULTS: Autism Spectrum Disorder subjects showed reduced imitation abilities of facial movements and non-meaningful combined hand-and-finger gestures. Regarding language, ASD subjects showed difficulties in AAT spontaneous speech measures and reduced pragmatic language abilities. Correlations of imitation and language measures differed between ASD, male and female controls. CONCLUSION: The weak and differential correlations of imitation and language measures in the three comparison groups might imply a differential organization of language and imitation networks in the three comparison groups. Pragmatic abilities, which are a central feature in ASD, were not related to imitation abilities. Therefore, imitation and language abilities in ASD might not be as closely correlated as previously expected.
INTRODUCTION: Difficulties imitating gestures have been found in several studies in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). It has been hypothesized that imitation abilities might be precursors of language abilities in young children with autism. No study on imitation and language abilities in adolescents with ASD has been performed to date. METHODS: Fifteen male adolescents with ASD, 16 male and 13 female controls were compared regarding imitation abilities of upper and lower facial movements, and language skills as assessed by the pragmatic rating scale and the Aachen Aphasia test (AAT). RESULTS:Autism Spectrum Disorder subjects showed reduced imitation abilities of facial movements and non-meaningful combined hand-and-finger gestures. Regarding language, ASD subjects showed difficulties in AAT spontaneous speech measures and reduced pragmatic language abilities. Correlations of imitation and language measures differed between ASD, male and female controls. CONCLUSION: The weak and differential correlations of imitation and language measures in the three comparison groups might imply a differential organization of language and imitation networks in the three comparison groups. Pragmatic abilities, which are a central feature in ASD, were not related to imitation abilities. Therefore, imitation and language abilities in ASD might not be as closely correlated as previously expected.
Authors: G R Kuperberg; P K McGuire; E T Bullmore; M J Brammer; S Rabe-Hesketh; I C Wright; D J Lythgoe; S C Williams; A S David Journal: J Cogn Neurosci Date: 2000-03 Impact factor: 3.225
Authors: M Zilbovicius; N Boddaert; P Belin; J B Poline; P Remy; J F Mangin; L Thivard; C Barthélémy; Y Samson Journal: Am J Psychiatry Date: 2000-12 Impact factor: 18.112
Authors: Alyssa J Orinstein; Joyce Suh; Kaitlyn Porter; Kaitlin A De Yoe; Katherine E Tyson; Eva Troyb; Marianne L Barton; Inge-Marie Eigsti; Michael C Stevens; Deborah A Fein Journal: J Autism Dev Disord Date: 2015-08
Authors: Monica Biscaldi; Reinhold Rauh; Cora Müller; Lisa Irion; Christopher W N Saville; Eberhard Schulz; Christoph Klein Journal: Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry Date: 2015-08-02 Impact factor: 4.785
Authors: Monica Biscaldi; Reinhold Rauh; Lisa Irion; Nikolai H Jung; Volker Mall; Christian Fleischhaker; Christoph Klein Journal: Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry Date: 2013-10-02 Impact factor: 4.785
Authors: Christina Luckhardt; Magdalena Schütz; Andreas Mühlherr; Hannah Mössinger; Sara Boxhoorn; Astrid Dempfle; Ricardo Salvador; Giulio Ruffini; Helena C Pereira; Miguel Castelo-Branco; Marianne Latinus; Frédérique Bonnet-Brilhault; Julia Siemann; Michael Siniatchkin; Christine Ecker; Christine M Freitag Journal: Trials Date: 2021-04-06 Impact factor: 2.279