scholarly journals Patterns of fixation during face recognition: Differences in autism across age

Autism ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 866-880 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Fedor ◽  
Andrew Lynn ◽  
William Foran ◽  
Jared DiCicco-Bloom ◽  
Beatriz Luna ◽  
...  

Difficulties with face recognition increase from adolescence to adulthood in autism, reflecting a lack of typical late development. We examined whether this reflects differences in the development of patterns of fixation to eyes and mouths during face recognition. Children, adolescents, and adults (aged 7–30) with and without autism completed the Cambridge Face Memory Test while gaze was recorded. Average duration and number of fixations were calculated for eyes and mouth regions of interest, defined individually for each face image in the task. All groups and age groups made more and longer fixations to eyes than mouths. However, during face memorization, typically developing children and adults, but not adolescents, made more fixations to eyes than did their peers with autism. During face recognition, typically developing children and adults made shorter fixations on mouths than did their peers with autism; this pattern was reversed in adolescence, with adolescents with autism making more fixations to mouths than typically developing adolescents. Results suggest that group differences in patterns of fixations to faces change with age. Furthermore, different relationships between patterns of fixations and face recognition performance in typical development and autism suggest that these differences contribute, at least in part, to difficulties in autism.

Author(s):  
Massimiliano Conson ◽  
Mattia Siciliano ◽  
Luigi Trojano ◽  
Pierluigi Zoccolotti ◽  
Isa Zappullo ◽  
...  

AbstractIn two studies, we used the Gottschaldt’s Hidden Figure Test (GHFT) for assessing figure disembedding ability in children aged 7–11. Study 1 demonstrated in a large sample of typically developing children that GHFT accuracy and time scores differed across age groups, without sex and socioeconomic differences. Thus, we provided normative data only taking into account children’s age. In Study 2, GHFT normative values were used to assess children with autism, who were also compared with a closely age-matched group of typical controls. Children with autism achieved time scores at or above the 50th centile and significantly differed from the controls for time score. The GHFT seems a valuable tool for defining the cognitive profile of children with autism.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 11140
Author(s):  
Yun-Huei Ju ◽  
Rong-Ju Cherng

Background: Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have difficulty in managing postural control during functional reaching tasks, although children with different postural control ability are able to come up with different motor solutions to cope with different task demands. This study examined the effect of task constraint on postural control performance in children with cerebral palsy and typical development (TD) in terms of different postural control abilities. Methods: A cross-sectional research design was used. Twelve children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy (mean age: 107.8 months) and 16 typically developing children (mean age: 110.9 months) participated in this study. Individually, all subjects were seated in a height-adjusted chair and were requested to reach for target(s) located at three different directions (medial, anterior, and lateral). A six-camera Qualisys Motion Capture System was used to capture motion data. Kinematic data in terms of body alignment and angular changes were analyzed. Results: Children with cerebral palsy demonstrated different postural control strategies to complete different reaching tasks compared to typically developing children by preparing postural alignment in advance, coordinating different body orientation movements during reaching after showing difficulty in managing reach medially. Conclusions: Children with cerebral palsy perceive their insufficient ability and prepare their alignment in advance to adapt to the task demanded and decrease the postural challenges of the task. Even though children with cerebral palsy self-generate different motor solutions to reach without falling, these alternative strategies might not be the most efficient adaptation.


Author(s):  
Linda Gilmore ◽  
Monica Cuskelly

Abstract Despite a lack of consistent empirical evidence, there has been an ongoing assumption that intellectual disability is associated with reduced levels of motivation. The participants in this study were 33 children with Down syndrome ages 10–15 years and 33 typically developing 3–8-year-old children. Motivation was measured through observational assessments of curiosity, preference for challenge, and persistence, as well as maternal reports. There were no significant group differences on motivation tasks, but mothers of children with Down syndrome rated their children significantly lower on motivation than did parents of typically developing children. There were some intriguing group differences in the pattern of correlations among observations and parent reports. The findings challenge long-held views that individuals with intellectual disability are invariably deficient in motivation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (11) ◽  
pp. 3586-3593
Author(s):  
Abigail E. Haenssler ◽  
Xiangming Fang ◽  
Jamie L. Perry

Purpose Velopharyngeal (VP) ratios are commonly used to study normal VP anatomy and normal VP function. An effective VP (EVP) ratio may be a more appropriate indicator of normal parameters for speech. The aims of this study are to examine if the VP ratio is preserved across the age span or if it varies with changes in the VP portal and to analyze if the EVP ratio is more stable across the age span. Method Magnetic resonance imaging was used to analyze VP variables of 270 participants. For statistical analysis, the participants were divided into the following groups based on age: infants, children, adolescents, and adults. Analyses of variance and a Games–Howell post hoc test were used to compare variables between groups. Results There was a statistically significant difference ( p < .05) in all measurements between the age groups. Pairwise comparisons reported statistically significant adjacent group differences ( p < .05) for velar length, VP ratio, effective velar length, adenoid depth, and pharyngeal depth. No statistically significant differences between adjacent age groups were reported for the EVP ratio. Conclusions Results from this study report the EVP ratio was not statistically significant between adjacent age groups, whereas the VP ratio was statistically significant between adjacent age groups. This study suggests that the EVP ratio is more correlated to VP function than the VP ratio and provides a more stable and consistent ratio of VP function across the age span.


Author(s):  
Piyush Sone ◽  
Ratan Jadhav ◽  
Medha Karbhari Adhyaru

<p><strong>Background:</strong> Syntax is an important aspect of language. It is very important to study syntax development in the children with hearing impairment (HI). The aim of study was to compare syntactic abilities of Marathi speaking children with hearing impairment using cochlear implant and typical developing children in the age range of 4 to 7 years.<strong></strong></p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Ninety typically developing children, 26 language age matched children using cochlear implants were included in this study. They were grouped into three age groups: 4-5, 5-6 and 6-7 years. Syntax test in Marathi which has six subtests in comprehension: wh-questions, negations/yes/no questions, post-positions, plurals, tenses, person, number, gender markers and five subtests in expression: negation/yes/no questions, post-positions, plurals, tenses, person, number, gender markers was administered through a laptop to children in each group.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Results showed typically developing children performed significantly better than children with hearing impairment using cochlear implant I the age range of 4 to 5 years. Except postposition and PNG markers of comprehensive syntactic abilities all other syntactic abilities were significantly poor in children using cochlear implants. Only expressive syntactic abilities were significantly poor among children using cochlear implants in the age range of 6 to 7 years.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Overall, the findings of this study showed that that Syntax test in Marathi can identify impairment in the syntactic ability in Marathi speaking children with hearing impairment. Children with hearing impairment using cochlear implants showed poor syntactic abilities.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 442-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Grossi ◽  
L. Migliore ◽  
F. Muratori

AbstractThis study, carried out in two Italian Institutions, assesses the frequency of 27 potential autism risk factors related to pregnancy and peri- and postnatal periods by interviewing mothers who had children with autism, children with autism and one or two typically developing siblings, or only typically developing children. The clinical sample included three case groups: 73 children and adolescents with autism (Group A), 35 children and adolescents with autism (Group A1) having 45 siblings (Group B) and 96 typically developing children (Group C) matched for gender and age. Twenty-five out of 27 of risk factors presented a higher frequency in Group A in comparison with Group C and for nine of them a statistically significant difference was found. Twenty-one out of 27 of risk factors presented a higher frequency in Group A in comparison with Group B. A higher prevalence of environmental risk factors was observed in 11 risk factors in the Group A1 in comparison with Group B and for nine of them an odds ratio higher than 1.5 was found. For 13 factors there was a progressive increase in frequency going from Group C, B and A and a statistically higher prevalence of the mean number of stressful events per pregnancy was recorded in Group A when compared with Groups B and C. The results suggest that environmental, incidental phenomena and stressful life events can influence pregnancy outcome in predisposed subjects, pointing out a possible threshold effect in women who are predisposed to have suboptimal pregnancies.


2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
NATALIA RAKHLIN ◽  
SERGEY A. KORNILOV ◽  
ELENA L. GRIGORENKO

ABSTRACTTwo experiments tested whether Russian-speaking children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) are sensitive to gender agreement when performing a gender decision task. In Experiment 1, the presence of overt gender agreement between verbs and/or adjectival modifiers and postverbal subject nouns memory was varied. In Experiment 2, agreement violations were introduced and the targets varied between words, pseudo-words, or pseudo-words with derivational suffixes. In both experiments, children with DLD did not differ from typically developing children in their reaction time or sensitivity to agreement features. In both groups, trials with feminine gender resulted in a higher error rate. Children with DLD displayed lower overall accuracy, which was related to differences in phonological memory in both experiments. Furthermore, in Experiment 1 group differences were not maintained after phonological memory was entered as a covariate. The results are discussed with respect to various processing and linguistic theories of DLD.


2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 262-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Lee ◽  
Fiona E. Gibbon ◽  
Kimberley Spivey

Objective The objective of this study was to investigate whether reduced speech intelligibility in children with cleft palate affects social and personal attribute judgments made by typically developing children of different ages. Design The study (1) measured the correlation between intelligibility scores of speech samples from children with cleft palate and social and personal attribute judgments made by typically developing children based on these samples and (2) compared the attitude judgments made by children of different ages. Participants A total of 90 typically developing children, 30 in each of three age groups (7 to 8 years, 9 to 10 years, and 11 to 12 years). Outcome Measures Speech intelligibility scores and typically developing children s attitudes were measured using eight social and personal attributes on a three-point rating scale. Results There was a significant correlation between the speech intelligibility scores and attitude judgments for a number of traits: “sick-healthy” as rated by the children aged 7 to 8 years, “no friends-friends” by the children aged 9 to 10 years, and “ugly-good looking” and “no friends-friends” by the children aged 11 to 12 years. Children aged 7 to 8 years gave significantly lower ratings for “mean-kind” but higher ratings for “shy-outgoing” when compared with the other two groups. Conclusions Typically developing children tended to make negative social and personal attribute judgments about children with cleft palate based solely on the intelligibility of their speech. Society, educators, and health professionals should work together to ensure that children with cleft palate are not stigmatized by their peers.


2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 1224-1248 ◽  
Author(s):  
CRISTINA MCKEAN ◽  
CAROLYN LETTS ◽  
DAVID HOWARD

ABSTRACTThe effect of phonotactic probability (PP) and neighbourhood density (ND) on triggering word learning was examined in children with Language Impairment (3;04–6;09) and compared to Typically Developing children. Nonwords, varying PP and ND orthogonally, were presented in a story context and their learning tested using a referent identification task. Group comparisons with receptive vocabulary as a covariate found no group differences in overall scores or in the influence of PP or ND. Therefore, there was no evidence of atypical lexical or phonological processing. ‘Convergent’ PP/ND (High PP/High ND; Low PP/Low ND) was optimal for word learning in both groups. This bias interacted with vocabulary knowledge. ‘Divergent’ PP/ND word scores (High PP/Low ND; Low PP/High ND) were positively correlated with vocabulary so the ‘divergence disadvantage’ reduced as vocabulary knowledge grew; an interaction hypothesized to represent developmental changes in lexical–phonological processing linked to the emergence of phonological representations.


2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Edwards ◽  
Robert A. Fox ◽  
Catherine L. Rogers

Preschool-age children with phonological disorders were compared to their typically developing age peers on their ability to discriminate CVC words that differed only in the identity of the final consonant in whole-word and gated conditions. The performance of three age groups of typically developing children and adults was also assessed on the same task. Children with phonological disorders performed more poorly than age-matched peers, and younger typically developing children performed more poorly than older children and adults, even when the entire CVC word was presented. Performance in the whole-word condition was correlated with receptive vocabulary size and a measure of articulatory accuracy across all children. These results suggest that there is a complex relationship among word learning skills, the ability to attend to fine phonetic detail, and the acquisition of articulatory-acoustic and acoustic-auditory representations.


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