Exploring the relationship between gestural recognition and imitation: evidence of dyspraxia in autism spectrum disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 2011 Jan;41(1):1-12
Date
04/22/2010Pubmed ID
20407815DOI
10.1007/s10803-010-1011-1Scopus ID
2-s2.0-78751674133 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 60 CitationsAbstract
In this study, the relationship between gesture recognition and imitation was explored. Nineteen individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) were compared to a control group of 23 typically developing children on their ability to imitate and recognize three gesture types (transitive, intransitive, and pantomimes). The ASD group performed more poorly than controls on all tasks of recognition and imitation. Higher performance on tests of working memory was associated with increased odds of successful imitation in both groups. Group differences remained even when working memory was statistically controlled for. An association was revealed in the ASD group between pantomime recognition and imitation but a similar association was not identified for intransitive gestures suggesting that recognition alone is not sufficient for imitation success.
Author List
Stieglitz Ham H, Bartolo A, Corley M, Rajendran G, Szabo A, Swanson SAuthors
Sara J. Swanson PhD Chief, Professor in the Neurology department at Medical College of WisconsinAniko Szabo PhD Professor in the Institute for Health and Equity department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentApraxias
Child
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive
Female
Gestures
Humans
Imitative Behavior
Male
Memory, Short-Term
Neuropsychological Tests
Statistics, Nonparametric
Surveys and Questionnaires
