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Processes of Language Acquisition in Children With Autism: Evidence from Preferential Looking
Author(s) -
Swensen Lauren D.,
Kelley Elizabeth,
Fein Deborah,
Naigles Letitia R.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01022.x
Subject(s) - psychology , comprehension , autism , word order , language acquisition , noun , verb , cognitive psychology , linguistics , object (grammar) , autism spectrum disorder , language development , developmental psychology , philosophy , mathematics education
Two language acquisition processes (comprehension preceding production of word order, the noun bias) were examined in 2‐ and 3‐year‐old children ( n =10) with autistic spectrum disorder and in typically developing 21‐month‐olds ( n =13). Intermodal preferential looking was used to assess comprehension of subject–verb–object word order and the tendency to map novel words onto objects rather than actions. Spontaneous speech samples were also collected. Results demonstrated significant comprehension of word order in both groups well before production. Moreover, children in both groups consistently showed the noun bias. Comprehension preceding production and the noun bias appear to be robust processes of language acquisition, observable in both typical and language‐impaired populations.