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Behavioral and Physiological Responses to Child-Directed Speech of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders or Typical Development

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Abstract

Young boys with autism were compared to typically developing boys on responses to nonsocial and child-directed speech (CDS) stimuli. Behavioral (looking) and physiological (heart rate and respiratory sinus arrhythmia) measures were collected. Boys with autism looked equally as much as chronological age-matched peers at nonsocial stimuli, but less at CDS stimuli. Boys with autism and language age-matched peers differed in patterns of looking at live versus videotaped CDS stimuli. Boys with autism demonstrated faster heart rates than chronological age-matched peers, but did not differ significantly on respiratory sinus arrhythmia. Reduced attention during CDS may restrict language-learning opportunities for children with autism. The heart rate findings suggest that young children with autism have a nonspecific elevated arousal level.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the National Alliance for Autism Research/Autism Speaks (681) and the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (R01-HD42168); the Registry Core of the Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P30-HD03110); the assistance of Fabian David, Doanne L. Ward-Williams, Twyla Perryman, Megan McLester, Renee Clark, Beth Schultz, Irene Chan, and Sheila Lang in recruitment, data collection, and coding; and the families who participated in the study; and Michele Poe for consultation on statistical analyses.

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  1. Jane E. Roberts

    Present address: University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

  2. Kerry C. Mandulak

    Present address: Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA

  3. Jennifer C. Dalton

    Present address: Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, CB# 7190, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7190, USA

    Linda R. Watson, Kerry C. Mandulak & Jennifer C. Dalton

  2. Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, CB #8180, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-8180, USA

    Jane E. Roberts

  3. Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, CB #7120, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7120, USA

    Grace T. Baranek

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Correspondence to Linda R. Watson.

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Watson, L.R., Roberts, J.E., Baranek, G.T. et al. Behavioral and Physiological Responses to Child-Directed Speech of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders or Typical Development. J Autism Dev Disord 42, 1616–1629 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1401-z

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