Imitation Skill in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Its Influence on Their Language Acquisition and Communication Skills
Abstract
Introduction: Autism spectrum is a lifelong neural growth disorder, manifested as problems in social interaction, communication, and imagination along with limited and repetitive behaviors and interests. Furthermore, autistic children show clear defects in imitation skill. Acquiring imitation skill plays a vital role in the growth of social communication such as language, common attention, and play. Given the increasing prevalence of autism in advanced societies and lack of speech therapies for language enhancement and the role of imitation in the development of language, the purpose of this study is to evaluate recent studies in the field of mimicking effects on the different aspects of language in autistic children and determining the most effective and appropriate way of teaching imitation to improve the language and communication skills in these children.
Materials and Methods: This research is a review study aimed at collecting the relevant data from 2000 to 2017 in the field of imitation and its impact on language and communication in children with autism by searching the Google Scholar, Science Direct, Scopus, PubMed, SID, and IranMedex databases.
Results: In this article, 13 related studies were found from 2000 to 2017. Out of these studies, two studies were carried out in Iran, and 11 other studies in other countries. Two research studies compared imitation ability of autistic children with other disorders, and other studies examined the effect of imitation on different aspects of language acquisition.
Conclusion: All studies have shown that imitation influences on different aspects of language acquisition and enhances pre-lingual communication, such as the infant’s gaze at mother’s eyes, development of perception and expression language, improvement of understanding language application skills and syntax, including the number of verbs and the increase of the verbal production of vocabulary and the phrase.
Charman T. Developmental approaches to understanding and treating autism. Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica. 2010; 62(4):166-77. [DOI:10.1159/000314032] [PMID]
Miniscalco C, Rudling M, Råstam M, Gillberg C, Johnels JÅ. Imitation (rather than core language) predicts pragmatic development in young children with ASD: A preliminary longitudinal study using CDI parental reports. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders. 2014; 49(3):369-75. [DOI:10.1111/1460-6984.12085] [PMID]
Fombonne E. The epidemiology of autism: A review. Psychological Medicine. 1999; 29(4):769-86. [DOI:10.1017/S0033291799008508] [PMID]
Williams JH, Whiten A, Suddendorf T, Perrett DI. Imitation, mirror neurons and autism. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 2001; 25(4):287-95. [DOI:10.1016/S0149-7634(01)00014-8]
Ingersoll B. The social role of imitation in autism: Implications for the treatment of imitation deficits. Infants & Young Children. 2008; 21(2):107-19. [DOI:10.1097/01.IYC.0000314482.24087.14]
Rogers SJ, Hepburn SL, Stackhouse T, Wehner E. Imitation performance in toddlers with autism and those with other developmental disorders. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 2003; 44(5):763-81. [DOI:10.1111/1469-7610.00162] [PMID]
Young GS, Rogers SJ, Hutman T, Rozga A, Sigman M, Ozonoff S. Imitation from 12 to 24 months in autism and typical development: A longitudinal Rasch analysis. Developmental Psychology. 2011; 47(6):1565. [DOI:10.1037/a0025418] [PMID] [PMCID]
Ishizuka Y, Yamamoto JI. Contingent imitation increases verbal interaction in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Autism. 2016; 20(8):1011-20. [DOI:10.1177/1362361315622856] [PMID]
DeMyer MK, Alpern GD, Barton S, DeMyer WE, Churchill DW, Hingtgen JN, et al. Imitation in autistic, early schizophrenic, and non-psychotic subnormal children. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia. 1972; 2(3):264-87. [DOI:10.1007/BF01537618] [PMID]
Stone WL, Ousley OY, Littleford CD. Motor imitation in young children with autism: What’s the object. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. 1997; 25(6):475-85. [DOI:10.1023/A:1022685731726] [PMID]
Rogers SJ, Bennetto L, McEvoy R, Pennington BF. Imitation and pantomime in high‐functioning adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Child Development. 1996; 67(5):2060-73. [DOI:10.2307/1131609] [PMID]
Sigman M, Ungerer JA. Cognitive and language skills in autistic, mentally retarded, and normal children. Developmental Psychology. 1984; 20(2):293-302. [DOI:10.1037/0012-1649.20.2.293]
Edwards LA. A meta‐analysis of imitation abilities in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Autism Research. 2014; 7(3):363-80. [DOI:10.1002/aur.1379] [PMID]
Vivanti G, Trembath D, Dissanayake C. Mechanisms of imitation impairment in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. 2014; 42(8):1395-405. [DOI:10.1007/s10802-014-9874-9] [PMID]
Quill KA. Do-watch-listen-say: Social communication intervention for children with autism. Towson, Maryland: Paul H Brookes; 2000.
Dawson G, Galpert L. A developmental model for facilitating the social behavior of autistic children. In: Schopler E, Mesibov GB, editors. Social Behavior in Autism. Berlin: Springer; 1986. [PMID]
Turan F, Ökcun Akcamut MÇ. An investigation of the imitation skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their association with receptive-expressive language development. Turkish Journal of Psychiatry. 2013; 24(2):1-5. [DOI:10.5080/U7007]
Meltzoff A, Gopnik A. The role of imitation in understanding persons and developing a theory of mind. In: Baron- Cohen S, Tager-Flusberg H, Cohen DJ, editors. Understanding Other Minds. New York: Oxford University Press; 1993.
Nadel J, Guérini C, Pezé A, Rivet C. The evolving nature of imitation as a format for communication. In: Nadel J, Butterworth G, editors. Cambridge Studies in Cognitive Perceptual Development: Imitation in Infancy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1999.
Trevarthen C, Kokkinaki T, Fiamenghi GAJr. (1999). What infants' imitations communicate: With mothers, with fathers and with peers. In: Nadel J, Butterworth G, editors. Cambridge Studies in Cognitive Perceptual Development: Imitation in Infancy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1999.
Turan F, Kaysılı BK. [Language Characteristics of Children with Autism (Turkish)]. Psikiyatri Psikoloji Psikofarmakoloji Dergisi. 2005; 13(2):137-42.
Meltzoff AN, Decety J. What imitation tells us about social cognition: A rapprochement between developmental psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B. 2003; 358(1431):491-500. [DOI:10.1098/rstb.2002.1261] [PMID] [PMCID]
Meltzoff AN, Prinz W. The imitative mind: Development, evolution and brain bases. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2002. [DOI:10.1017/CBO9780511489969]
Williams JH, Waiter GD, Gilchrist A, Perrett DI, Murray AD, Whiten A. Neural mechanisms of imitation and ‘mirror neuron’functioning in autistic spectrum disorder. Neuropsychologia. 2006; 44(4):610-21. [DOI:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2005.06.010] [PMID]
Thurm A, Lord C, Lee LC, Newschaffer C. Predictors of language acquisition in preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2007; 37(9):1721-34. [DOI:10.1007/s10803-006-0300-1] [PMID]
Toth K, Munson J, Meltzoff AN, Dawson G. Early predictors of communication development in young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Joint attention, imitation, and toy play. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2006; 36(8):993-1005. [DOI:10.1007/s10803-006-0137-7] [PMID] [PMCID]
Ingersoll B, Schreibman L. Teaching reciprocal imitation skills to young children with autism using a naturalistic behavioral approach: Effects on language, pretend play, and joint attention. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2006; 36(4):487-505. [DOI:10.1007/s10803-006-0089-y] [PMID]
Carpenter M, Pennington BF, Rogers SJ. Interrelations among social-cognitive skills in young children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2002; 32(2):91-106. [DOI:10.1023/A:1014836521114] [PMID]
Stone WL, Yoder PJ. Predicting spoken language level in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Autism. 2001; 5(4):341-61. [DOI:10.1177/1362361301005004002] [PMID]
Dadgar H, Rad JA, Soleymani Z, Khorammi A, McCleery J, Maroufizadeh S. The relationship between motor, imitation, and early social communication skills in children with autism. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry. 2017; 12(4):236-40. [PMID] [PMCID]
Heimann M, Nordqvist E, Strid K, Connant Almrot J, Tjus T. Children with autism respond differently to spontaneous, elicited and deferred imitation. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. 2016; 60(5):491-501. [DOI:10.1111/jir.12272] [PMID]
Yarmand H, Ashayeri H. [A comparison of the effect of music induction and intentional movement imitation on the increase in the average number of verbs in a sentence in autistic children (Persian)]. Language Related Research. 2016; 7(5):239-91.
Souza AC, Mazzega LC, Armonia AC, Pinto FCdA, Bevilacqua M, Nascimbeni RCD, et al. Comparative study of the imitation ability in specific language impairment and autism spectrum impairment. CoDAS. 2015; 27(2):1782-2317. [DOI:10.1590/2317-1782/20152014194]
Turan F, Akcamus MÇ. An investigation of the imitation skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their association with receptive-expressive language development. Turkish Journal of Psychiatry. 2013; 24(2):1-5. [DOI: 10.5080/U7007]
Sanefuji W, Ohgami H. Imitative behaviors facilitate communicative gaze in children with autism. Infant Mental Health Journal. 2011; 32(1):134-42. [DOI:10.1002/imhj.20287] [PMID]
Ingersoll B, Lalonde K. The impact of object and gesture imitation training on language use in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 2010; 53(4):1040-51. [DOI:10.1044/1092-4388(2009/09-0043)]
Tardif C, Lainé F, Rodriguez M, Gepner B. Slowing down presentation of facial movements and vocal sounds enhances facial expression recognition and induces facial-vocal imitation in children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2007; 37(8):1469-84. [DOI:10.1007/s10803-006-0223-x] [PMID]
Ross DE, Greer RD. Generalized imitation and the mand: Inducing first instances of speech in young children with autism. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2003; 24(1):58-74. [DOI:10.1016/S0891-4222(02)00167-1]
Miniscalco C, Rudling M, Råstam M, Gillberg C, Johnels JÅ. Imitation (rather than core language) predicts pragmatic development in young children with ASD: A preliminary longitudinal study using CDI parental reports. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders. 2014; 49(3):369-75. [DOI:10.1111/1460-6984.12085] [PMID]
Fombonne E. The epidemiology of autism: A review. Psychological Medicine. 1999; 29(4):769-86. [DOI:10.1017/S0033291799008508] [PMID]
Williams JH, Whiten A, Suddendorf T, Perrett DI. Imitation, mirror neurons and autism. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 2001; 25(4):287-95. [DOI:10.1016/S0149-7634(01)00014-8]
Ingersoll B. The social role of imitation in autism: Implications for the treatment of imitation deficits. Infants & Young Children. 2008; 21(2):107-19. [DOI:10.1097/01.IYC.0000314482.24087.14]
Rogers SJ, Hepburn SL, Stackhouse T, Wehner E. Imitation performance in toddlers with autism and those with other developmental disorders. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 2003; 44(5):763-81. [DOI:10.1111/1469-7610.00162] [PMID]
Young GS, Rogers SJ, Hutman T, Rozga A, Sigman M, Ozonoff S. Imitation from 12 to 24 months in autism and typical development: A longitudinal Rasch analysis. Developmental Psychology. 2011; 47(6):1565. [DOI:10.1037/a0025418] [PMID] [PMCID]
Ishizuka Y, Yamamoto JI. Contingent imitation increases verbal interaction in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Autism. 2016; 20(8):1011-20. [DOI:10.1177/1362361315622856] [PMID]
DeMyer MK, Alpern GD, Barton S, DeMyer WE, Churchill DW, Hingtgen JN, et al. Imitation in autistic, early schizophrenic, and non-psychotic subnormal children. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia. 1972; 2(3):264-87. [DOI:10.1007/BF01537618] [PMID]
Stone WL, Ousley OY, Littleford CD. Motor imitation in young children with autism: What’s the object. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. 1997; 25(6):475-85. [DOI:10.1023/A:1022685731726] [PMID]
Rogers SJ, Bennetto L, McEvoy R, Pennington BF. Imitation and pantomime in high‐functioning adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Child Development. 1996; 67(5):2060-73. [DOI:10.2307/1131609] [PMID]
Sigman M, Ungerer JA. Cognitive and language skills in autistic, mentally retarded, and normal children. Developmental Psychology. 1984; 20(2):293-302. [DOI:10.1037/0012-1649.20.2.293]
Edwards LA. A meta‐analysis of imitation abilities in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Autism Research. 2014; 7(3):363-80. [DOI:10.1002/aur.1379] [PMID]
Vivanti G, Trembath D, Dissanayake C. Mechanisms of imitation impairment in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. 2014; 42(8):1395-405. [DOI:10.1007/s10802-014-9874-9] [PMID]
Quill KA. Do-watch-listen-say: Social communication intervention for children with autism. Towson, Maryland: Paul H Brookes; 2000.
Dawson G, Galpert L. A developmental model for facilitating the social behavior of autistic children. In: Schopler E, Mesibov GB, editors. Social Behavior in Autism. Berlin: Springer; 1986. [PMID]
Turan F, Ökcun Akcamut MÇ. An investigation of the imitation skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their association with receptive-expressive language development. Turkish Journal of Psychiatry. 2013; 24(2):1-5. [DOI:10.5080/U7007]
Meltzoff A, Gopnik A. The role of imitation in understanding persons and developing a theory of mind. In: Baron- Cohen S, Tager-Flusberg H, Cohen DJ, editors. Understanding Other Minds. New York: Oxford University Press; 1993.
Nadel J, Guérini C, Pezé A, Rivet C. The evolving nature of imitation as a format for communication. In: Nadel J, Butterworth G, editors. Cambridge Studies in Cognitive Perceptual Development: Imitation in Infancy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1999.
Trevarthen C, Kokkinaki T, Fiamenghi GAJr. (1999). What infants' imitations communicate: With mothers, with fathers and with peers. In: Nadel J, Butterworth G, editors. Cambridge Studies in Cognitive Perceptual Development: Imitation in Infancy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1999.
Turan F, Kaysılı BK. [Language Characteristics of Children with Autism (Turkish)]. Psikiyatri Psikoloji Psikofarmakoloji Dergisi. 2005; 13(2):137-42.
Meltzoff AN, Decety J. What imitation tells us about social cognition: A rapprochement between developmental psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B. 2003; 358(1431):491-500. [DOI:10.1098/rstb.2002.1261] [PMID] [PMCID]
Meltzoff AN, Prinz W. The imitative mind: Development, evolution and brain bases. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2002. [DOI:10.1017/CBO9780511489969]
Williams JH, Waiter GD, Gilchrist A, Perrett DI, Murray AD, Whiten A. Neural mechanisms of imitation and ‘mirror neuron’functioning in autistic spectrum disorder. Neuropsychologia. 2006; 44(4):610-21. [DOI:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2005.06.010] [PMID]
Thurm A, Lord C, Lee LC, Newschaffer C. Predictors of language acquisition in preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2007; 37(9):1721-34. [DOI:10.1007/s10803-006-0300-1] [PMID]
Toth K, Munson J, Meltzoff AN, Dawson G. Early predictors of communication development in young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Joint attention, imitation, and toy play. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2006; 36(8):993-1005. [DOI:10.1007/s10803-006-0137-7] [PMID] [PMCID]
Ingersoll B, Schreibman L. Teaching reciprocal imitation skills to young children with autism using a naturalistic behavioral approach: Effects on language, pretend play, and joint attention. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2006; 36(4):487-505. [DOI:10.1007/s10803-006-0089-y] [PMID]
Carpenter M, Pennington BF, Rogers SJ. Interrelations among social-cognitive skills in young children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2002; 32(2):91-106. [DOI:10.1023/A:1014836521114] [PMID]
Stone WL, Yoder PJ. Predicting spoken language level in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Autism. 2001; 5(4):341-61. [DOI:10.1177/1362361301005004002] [PMID]
Dadgar H, Rad JA, Soleymani Z, Khorammi A, McCleery J, Maroufizadeh S. The relationship between motor, imitation, and early social communication skills in children with autism. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry. 2017; 12(4):236-40. [PMID] [PMCID]
Heimann M, Nordqvist E, Strid K, Connant Almrot J, Tjus T. Children with autism respond differently to spontaneous, elicited and deferred imitation. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. 2016; 60(5):491-501. [DOI:10.1111/jir.12272] [PMID]
Yarmand H, Ashayeri H. [A comparison of the effect of music induction and intentional movement imitation on the increase in the average number of verbs in a sentence in autistic children (Persian)]. Language Related Research. 2016; 7(5):239-91.
Souza AC, Mazzega LC, Armonia AC, Pinto FCdA, Bevilacqua M, Nascimbeni RCD, et al. Comparative study of the imitation ability in specific language impairment and autism spectrum impairment. CoDAS. 2015; 27(2):1782-2317. [DOI:10.1590/2317-1782/20152014194]
Turan F, Akcamus MÇ. An investigation of the imitation skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their association with receptive-expressive language development. Turkish Journal of Psychiatry. 2013; 24(2):1-5. [DOI: 10.5080/U7007]
Sanefuji W, Ohgami H. Imitative behaviors facilitate communicative gaze in children with autism. Infant Mental Health Journal. 2011; 32(1):134-42. [DOI:10.1002/imhj.20287] [PMID]
Ingersoll B, Lalonde K. The impact of object and gesture imitation training on language use in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 2010; 53(4):1040-51. [DOI:10.1044/1092-4388(2009/09-0043)]
Tardif C, Lainé F, Rodriguez M, Gepner B. Slowing down presentation of facial movements and vocal sounds enhances facial expression recognition and induces facial-vocal imitation in children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2007; 37(8):1469-84. [DOI:10.1007/s10803-006-0223-x] [PMID]
Ross DE, Greer RD. Generalized imitation and the mand: Inducing first instances of speech in young children with autism. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2003; 24(1):58-74. [DOI:10.1016/S0891-4222(02)00167-1]
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 12 No 3 (2018) | |
| Section | Review Article(s) | |
| Keywords | ||
| Autism Spectrum Disorder Language Cognition Communication | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Mazaheri S, Soleymani Z. Imitation Skill in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Its Influence on Their Language Acquisition and Communication Skills. jmr. 2019;12(3):141-148.
