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Imitation and language abilities in adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder without language delay

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An Erratum to this article was published on 25 May 2006

Abstract

Introduction

Difficulties imitating gestures have been found in several studies in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). It has been hypothesized that imitation abilities might be precursors of language abilities in young children with autism. No study on imitation and language abilities in adolescents with ASD has been performed to date.

Methods

Fifteen male adolescents with ASD, 16 male and 13 female controls were compared regarding imitation abilities of upper and lower facial movements, and language skills as assessed by the pragmatic rating scale and the Aachen Aphasia test (AAT).

Results

Autism Spectrum Disorder subjects showed reduced imitation abilities of facial movements and non-meaningful combined hand-and-finger gestures. Regarding language, ASD subjects showed difficulties in AAT spontaneous speech measures and reduced pragmatic language abilities. Correlations of imitation and language measures differed between ASD, male and female controls.

Conclusion

The weak and differential correlations of imitation and language measures in the three comparison groups might imply a differential organization of language and imitation networks in the three comparison groups. Pragmatic abilities, which are a central feature in ASD, were not related to imitation abilities. Therefore, imitation and language abilities in ASD might not be as closely correlated as previously expected.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the adolescents and their parents for participating in the study. Georg Goldenberg provided valuable advice for the design of the hand- and finger-imitation tasks. Rebecca Landa kindly made the Pragmatic rating scale – working draft available. The study was financially supported by the Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Saarland University Hospital, 66421, Homburg, Saar, Germany

    Christine M. Freitag, Christina Kleser & Alexander von Gontardf

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  1. Christine M. Freitag
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  2. Christina Kleser
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  3. Alexander von Gontardf
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Correspondence to Christine M. Freitag.

Additional information

An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00787-006-0558-z.

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Freitag, C.M., Kleser, C. & von Gontardf, A. Imitation and language abilities in adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder without language delay. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 15, 282–291 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-006-0533-8

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