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Children's referential understanding of novel words and parent labeling behaviors: similarities across children with and without autism spectrum disorders*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2012

HANADY BANI HANI ,
ANA MARIA GONZALEZ-BARRERO  and
APARNA S. NADIG
HANADY BANI HANI
Affiliation:
McGill University, School of Communication Sciences and Disorders
ANA MARIA GONZALEZ-BARRERO
Affiliation:
McGill University, School of Communication Sciences and Disorders
APARNA S. NADIG*
Affiliation:
McGill University, School of Communication Sciences and Disorders
*
Address for correspondence: Aparna Nadig, PhD, McGill University, School of Communication Sciences and Disorders. e-mail: aparna.nadig@mcgill.ca
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Abstract

This study examined two facets of the use of social cues for early word learning in parent–child dyads, where children had an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or were typically developing. In Experiment 1, we investigated word learning and generalization by children with ASD (age range: 3;01–6;02) and typically developing children (age range: 1;02–4;09) who were matched on language ability. In Experiment 2, we examined verbal and non-verbal parental labeling behaviors. First, we found that both groups were similarly able to learn a novel label using social cues alone, and to generalize this label to other representations of the object. Children who utilized social cues for word learning had higher language levels. Second, we found that parental cues used to introduce object labels were strikingly similar across groups. Moreover, parents in both groups adapted labeling behavior to their child's language level, though this surfaced in different ways across groups.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 40 , Issue 5 , November 2013 , pp. 971 - 1002
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

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Footnotes

[*]

This work was funded by a grant from the Fonds Québecois de recherche sur la société et la culture to A. Nadig. We wish to thank the members of the PoP lab for their dedication and cumulative efforts in the word learning study, especially Krista Howarth, Emilie Leroux, Jesse Burns, and Janet Bang. Thanks to Sarah Smith for her work on reliability coding and to Dr Fombonne, Dr Steiman, and others at the Montreal Children's Hospital autism clinic for their assistance with recruitment. Finally, we extend our gratitude to the families and children who took part in this study.

References

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