Jacob I Feldman1, Kacie Dunham2,3, Julie G Conrad4,5, David M Simon2,3,6, Margaret Cassidy4, Yupeng Liu4, Alexander Tu4,7, Neill Broderick8,9, Mark T Wallace2,9,10,11,12,13, Tiffany G Woynaroski2,9,10. 1. Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, MCE 8310 South Tower, 1215 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37232. 2. Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, 465 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN, USA. 3. Neuroscience Graduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. 4. Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. 5. Present Address: College of Medicine, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, USA. 6. Present Address: axialHealthcare, Nashville, TN, USA. 7. Present Address: College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA. 8. Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. 9. Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. 10. Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. 11. Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. 12. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. 13. Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate atypical responses to multisensory stimuli. These disruptions, which are frequently seen in response to audiovisual speech, may produce cascading effects on the broader development of children with ASD. Perceptual training has been shown to enhance multisensory speech perception in typically developed adults. This study was the first to examine the effects of perceptual training on audiovisual speech perception in children with ASD. METHOD: A multiple baseline across participants design was utilized with four 7- to 13-year-old children with ASD. The dependent variable, which was probed outside the training task each day using a simultaneity judgment task in baseline, intervention, and maintenance conditions, was audiovisual temporal binding window (TBW), an index of multisensory temporal acuity. During perceptual training, participants completed the same simultaneity judgment task with feedback on their accuracy after each trial in easy-, medium-, and hard-difficulty blocks. RESULTS: A functional relation between the multisensory perceptual training program and TBW size was not observed. Of the three participants who were entered into training, one participant demonstrated a strong effect, characterized by a fairly immediate change in TBW trend. The two remaining participants demonstrated a less clear response (i.e., longer latency to effect, lack of functional independence). The first participant to enter the training condition demonstrated some maintenance of a narrower TBW post-training. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate TBWs in children with ASD may be malleable, but additional research is needed and may entail further adaptation to the multisensory perceptual training paradigm.
BACKGROUND: Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate atypical responses to multisensory stimuli. These disruptions, which are frequently seen in response to audiovisual speech, may produce cascading effects on the broader development of children with ASD. Perceptual training has been shown to enhance multisensory speech perception in typically developed adults. This study was the first to examine the effects of perceptual training on audiovisual speech perception in children with ASD. METHOD: A multiple baseline across participants design was utilized with four 7- to 13-year-old children with ASD. The dependent variable, which was probed outside the training task each day using a simultaneity judgment task in baseline, intervention, and maintenance conditions, was audiovisual temporal binding window (TBW), an index of multisensory temporal acuity. During perceptual training, participants completed the same simultaneity judgment task with feedback on their accuracy after each trial in easy-, medium-, and hard-difficulty blocks. RESULTS: A functional relation between the multisensory perceptual training program and TBW size was not observed. Of the three participants who were entered into training, one participant demonstrated a strong effect, characterized by a fairly immediate change in TBW trend. The two remaining participants demonstrated a less clear response (i.e., longer latency to effect, lack of functional independence). The first participant to enter the training condition demonstrated some maintenance of a narrower TBW post-training. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate TBWs in children with ASD may be malleable, but additional research is needed and may entail further adaptation to the multisensory perceptual training paradigm.
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