Meredith Cola1,2, Casey J Zampella1, Lisa D Yankowitz1,3, Samantha Plate1,4, Victoria Petrulla1, Kimberly Tena1, Alison Russell1, Juhi Pandey1,5, Robert T Schultz1,6, Julia Parish-Morris1,5. 1. Center for Autism Research, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. 2. Department of Psychology, La Salle University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. 3. Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. 4. Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. 5. Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. 6. Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Abstract
Successful social communication is complex; it relies on effectively deploying and continuously revising one's behavior to fit the needs of a given conversation, partner, and context. For example, a skilled conversationalist may instinctively become less talkative with a quiet partner and more talkative with a chattier one. Prior research suggests that behavioral flexibility across social contexts can be a particular challenge for individuals with autism spectrum condition (ASC), and that difficulty adapting to the changing needs of a conversation contributes to communicative breakdowns and poor social outcomes. In this study, we examine whether reduced conversational adaptation, as measured by talkativeness, differentiates 48 verbally fluent children and teens with ASC from 50 neurotypical (NT) peers matched on age, intelligence quotient, and sex ratio. Participants completed the Contextual Assessment of Social Skills with two novel conversation partners. The first acted interested in the conversation and talked more (Interested condition), while the second acted bored and talked less (Bored condition). Results revealed that NT participants emulated their conversation partner's behavior by being more talkative in the Interested condition as compared to the Bored condition (z = 9.92, p < 0.001). In contrast, the ASC group did not differentially adapt their behavior to the Bored versus Interested context, instead remaining consistently talkative in both (p = 0.88). The results of this study have implications for understanding social communication and behavioral adaptation in ASC, and may be valuable for clinicians interested in improving conversational competence in verbally fluent individuals with autism. LAY SUMMARY: Social communication-including everyday conversations-can be challenging for individuals on the autism spectrum. In successful conversations, people tend to adjust aspects of their language to be more similar to their partners'. In this study, we found that children and teens with autism did not change their own talkativeness in response to a social partner who was more or less talkative, whereas neurotypical peers did. These findings have clinical implications for improving conversational competence in verbally fluent individuals with autism.
Successful social communication is complex; it relies on effectively deploying and continuously revising one's behavior to fit the needs of a given conversation, partner, and context. For example, a skilled conversationalist may instinctively become less talkative with a quiet partner and more talkative with a chattier one. Prior research suggests that behavioral flexibility across social contexts can be a particular challenge for individuals with autism spectrum condition (ASC), and that difficulty adapting to the changing needs of a conversation contributes to communicative breakdowns and poor social outcomes. In this study, we examine whether reduced conversational adaptation, as measured by talkativeness, differentiates 48 verbally fluent children and teens with ASC from 50 neurotypical (NT) peers matched on age, intelligence quotient, and sex ratio. Participants completed the Contextual Assessment of Social Skills with two novel conversation partners. The first acted interested in the conversation and talked more (Interested condition), while the second acted bored and talked less (Bored condition). Results revealed that NT participants emulated their conversation partner's behavior by being more talkative in the Interested condition as compared to the Bored condition (z = 9.92, p < 0.001). In contrast, the ASC group did not differentially adapt their behavior to the Bored versus Interested context, instead remaining consistently talkative in both (p = 0.88). The results of this study have implications for understanding social communication and behavioral adaptation in ASC, and may be valuable for clinicians interested in improving conversational competence in verbally fluent individuals with autism. LAY SUMMARY: Social communication-including everyday conversations-can be challenging for individuals on the autism spectrum. In successful conversations, people tend to adjust aspects of their language to be more similar to their partners'. In this study, we found that children and teens with autism did not change their own talkativeness in response to a social partner who was more or less talkative, whereas neurotypical peers did. These findings have clinical implications for improving conversational competence in verbally fluent individuals with autism.
Authors: Julia Parish-Morris; Christopher Cieri; Mark Liberman; Leila Bateman; Emily Ferguson; Robert T Schultz Journal: LREC Int Conf Lang Resour Eval Date: 2016-05
Authors: Sylvie Tordjman; Katherine S Davlantis; Nicolas Georgieff; Marie-Maude Geoffray; Mario Speranza; George M Anderson; Jean Xavier; Michel Botbol; Cécile Oriol; Eric Bellissant; Julie Vernay-Leconte; Claire Fougerou; Anne Hespel; Aude Tavenard; David Cohen; Solenn Kermarrec; Nathalie Coulon; Olivier Bonnot; Geraldine Dawson Journal: Front Pediatr Date: 2015-02-23 Impact factor: 3.418
Authors: Julia Parish-Morris; Ashley A Pallathra; Emily Ferguson; Brenna B Maddox; Alison Pomykacz; Leat S Perez; Leila Bateman; Juhi Pandey; Robert T Schultz; Edward S Brodkin Journal: J Neurodev Disord Date: 2019-04-13 Impact factor: 4.025
Authors: Blythe A Corbett; Jessica M Schwartzman; Erin J Libsack; Rachael A Muscatello; Matthew D Lerner; Grace L Simmons; Susan W White Journal: Autism Res Date: 2020-11-21 Impact factor: 5.216