Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their first-degree relatives demonstrate automaticity deficits reflected in reduced eye-voice coordination during rapid automatized naming (RAN), suggesting that RAN deficits may be a genetically meaningful marker of ASD language-related impairments. This study investigated whether RAN deficits in ASD extend to a language typologically distinct from English. Participants included 23 Cantonese-speaking individuals with ASD and 39 controls from Hong Kong (HK), and age- and IQ-comparable groups of previously-studied English-speaking individuals with ASD (n = 45) and controls (n = 44) from the US. Participants completed RAN on an eye tracker. Analyses examined naming time, error rate, measures of eye movement reflecting language automaticity, including eye-voice span (EVS; location of eyes versus the named item) and refixations. The HK-ASD group exhibited longer naming times and more refixations than HK-Controls, in a pattern similar to that observed in the US-ASD group. Cultural effects revealed that both HK groups showed longer EVS and more fixations than US groups. Naming time and refixation differences may be ASD-specific impairments spanning cultures/languages, whereas EVS and fixation frequency may be more variably impacted. A potential underlying mechanism of visual “stickiness” may be contributing to this breakdown in language automaticity in ASD.
Highlights
Abbreviations ADOS Autism diagnostic observation schedule ANOVA Analysis of variance AOI Area of interest autism spectrum disorder (ASD) Autism spectrum disorder Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP) Comprehensive test of phonological processing eye voice span (EVS) Eye-voice span rapid automatized naming (RAN) Rapid automatized naming RRB Restricted and repetitive behaviors
This study explored the coordination of gaze and language during rapid automatized naming (RAN) in individuals with ASD and controls from both Hong Kong and the United States (US), to examine whether RAN impairments previously documented in ASD might extend beyond linguistic and cultural boundaries, and constitute a marker of language-related impairments associated with ASD
Links with language-related phenotypes have been previously identified with evidence showing reduced synchronization of voice and eye movement during RAN were related to narrative skills in A SD8
Summary
Abbreviations ADOS Autism diagnostic observation schedule ANOVA Analysis of variance AOI Area of interest ASD Autism spectrum disorder CTOPP Comprehensive test of phonological processing EVS Eye-voice span RAN Rapid automatized naming RRB Restricted and repetitive behaviors. Rapid automatized naming (RAN) involves serial naming of arrays composed of common symbols (numbers, letters) and non-symbols (colors, objects), with the objective of completing the task as quickly and accurately as possible This simplicity of the RAN task belies the complexity of the different component skills underlying RAN, including core executive (e.g., working memory, processing speed, inhibitory control of attention)[1], and linguistic skills (e.g., retrieval of lexical information, phonological processing and memory)[2], as well as the ability to coordinate these processes. Prior work reported shorter EVS and a greater number of fixations and refixations (perseverations and regressions) among individuals with ASD and their first degree r elatives[8,9], providing an important indication of key mechanistic disruptions during RAN processing that can inform the language-related impairments in ASD, and that are likely influenced by ASD genetic risk. Findings demonstrate how careful examination of eye movement and speech during RAN might reveal inefficiencies or impairments in the basic mechanisms that provide the foundation for more complex, downstream language abilities such as narrative skill
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
