scholarly journals Linking metaphor comprehension with analogical reasoning: Evidence from typical development and autism spectrum disorder

Author(s):  
Kinga Morsanyi ◽  
Jayne Hamilton ◽  
Dušan Stamenković ◽  
Keith J. Holyoak
Autism ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 136236132098772
Author(s):  
Patricia Esteban-Figuerola ◽  
Paula Morales-Hidalgo ◽  
Victoria Arija-Val ◽  
Josefa Canals-Sans

Overweight and obesity have been reported to be more prevalent in populations with autism spectrum disorder than in children with typical development. The aim of this study was to compare the anthropometric status of children with autism spectrum disorder (diagnosed and subclinical) and children with typical development and analyse which variables can affect the anthropometric and health status of children with autism spectrum disorder. We present a two-phase epidemiological study in a school population of two age groups which assesses autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, anthropometric data and bioelectrical impedance analysis. From an initial sample of 3,713 children, 79 with autism spectrum disorder, 42 with subclinical autism spectrum disorder and 350 with typical development participated in the study. Pre-schoolers with autism spectrum disorder were taller than pre-schoolers with typical development. School-age children with autism spectrum disorder showed a significantly higher body mass index and rate of overweight/obesity than children with typical development (63.4% vs 46.3%). No significant differences were found for bioelectrical impedance analysis, but school-age children with autism spectrum disorder showed a significantly higher waist circumference, waist/height ratio and cardiovascular risk than children with typical development. The quality of the diet was lower in children with autism spectrum disorder than in children with typical development. Multiple regression analyses showed that having autism spectrum disorder and internalizing psychological problems were associated with waist/height ratio and high cardiovascular risk in school-age children. Lay abstract This study makes a comparison between the growth status of pre-school and school-age children with autism spectrum disorder and typical development children. Pre-schoolers with autism spectrum disorder were taller than children with typical development. School-age children with autism spectrum disorder were more overweight/obese, had more body fat and a greater waist circumference and waist/height ratio than children with typical development. The presence of autism spectrum disorder and internalizing problems was associated with cardiovascular risk in school-age children.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 1421-1454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamar Kalandadze ◽  
Valentina Bambini ◽  
Kari-Anne B. Næss

AbstractIndividuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience difficulty in comprehending metaphors compared to individuals with typical development (TD). However, there is a large variation in the results across studies, possibly related to the properties of the metaphor tasks. This preregistered systematic review and meta-analysis (a) explored the properties of the metaphor tasks used in ASD research, and (b) investigated the group difference between individuals with ASD and TD on metaphor comprehension, as well as the relationship between the task properties and any between-study variation. A systematic search was undertaken in seven relevant databases. Fourteen studies fulfilled our predetermined inclusion criteria. Across tasks, we detected four types of response format and a great variety of metaphors in terms of familiarity, syntactic structure, and linguistic context. Individuals with TD outperformed individuals with ASD on metaphor comprehension (Hedges’ g = −0.63). Verbal explanation response format was utilized in the study showing the largest effect size in the group comparison. However, due to the sparse experimental manipulations, the role of task properties could not be established. Future studies should consider and report task properties to determine their role in metaphor comprehension, and to inform experimental paradigms as well as educational assessment.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa E. Mash ◽  
Kimberly B. Schauder ◽  
Channing Cochran ◽  
Sohee Park ◽  
Carissa J. Cascio

Interoceptive awareness is linked to emotional and social cognition, which are impaired in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is unknown how this ability is associated with age in either typical or atypical development. We used a standard test of interoceptive accuracy (IA) to investigate these questions in children and adults with and without ASD. Perceived number of heartbeats over 4 time intervals was compared with actual heart rate to determine IA. Effects of group, age, IQ, heart rate, and mental counting ability on accuracy were assessed using multiple regression. Post hoc correlations were performed to clarify significant interactions. Age was unrelated to IA in both groups when IQ ≥115. When IQ <115, this relationship was positive in typical development and negative in ASD. These results suggest that cognitive ability moderates the effect of age on IA differently in autism and typical development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-201
Author(s):  
Ana Roknić ◽  
Sanja Vuković

Introduction. Sensory processing is a neurobiological process in which a person uses their senses, sends information to an appropriate reception and processing center, and responds to environmental stimulations. Previous research has shown that sensory processing difficulties are more common among people with autism spectrum disorder than among people of the typical population. Objectives. The aim of this paper was to determine the patterns of sensory processing in subjects of the typical population and subjects with autism spectrum disorder, as well as gender and age differences in sensory profiles in these groups of subjects. Methods. Using The Child Sensory Profile 2 as the measuring instrument, the characteristics of sensory processing were examined in 120 subjects of both genders, 60 subjects with autism spectrum disorder and 60 subjects of typical development, ages three to 13 years and 11 months. Results. The obtained results show that there are differences between the two groups of respondents and that these differences occur in all nine subscales of the instrument. It was found that subjects with autismspectrumdisorder hadmore difficulty in processing sensory information compared to subjects of the typical population, especially in the domain of tactile perception. The results also show that the quality of sensory information processing in both groups of respondents improved with age. In relation to the respondents' gender, the obtained differences were significant in the domain of the total score of the instrument, in favor of the boys, but this was not observed in the measurements on all subscales. Conclusion. In accordance with the above findings, when creating an individual educational plan, it is necessary to take into account all the specifics of sensory processing of children with autism spectrum disorder.


Autism ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 2298-2303
Author(s):  
Andy CY Tse ◽  
CCW Yu ◽  
Paul H Lee

Children with autism spectrum disorder are often reported to have more sleep deficits and poorer sleep quality compared with children with typical development. However, most previous studies have serious methodological limitations, such as varying sample sizes in the comparison groups, wide age range of participants, and body mass index not matched between participants. This study investigated whether sleep patterns differed between children with autism spectrum disorder and those with typical development using a carefully matched case–control design and incorporating both actigraphy and sleep log assessments. A total of 78 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder were matched with 78 typical development controls in this study. The matched variables included age, gender, and body mass index. The results showed that children with autism spectrum disorder had shorter sleep duration, reduced sleep efficiency, longer sleep-onset latency, and longer wake after sleep onset than children with typical development ( ps < 0.05). Further studies are needed to explore the mechanisms underlying these sleep deficits in children with autism spectrum disorder. Lay abstract This study compared the sleep pattern between children with autism spectrum disorders and children with typical development using a matched case–control design (matched age, gender, and body mass index). Significant differences were found in night-time sleep duration (total amount of sleep at night), sleep efficiency (percentage of time spent asleep), sleep-onset latency (length of time that it takes to transit from awake to asleep), and wake after sleep onset (total amount of time spent awake after defined sleep onset). Findings showed that children with autism spectrum disorder had poorer sleep quality than children with typical development. Mechanisms underlying the differences should be further explored in order to develop an effective treatment intervention.


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