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Development of Episodic Memory and Foresight in High-Functioning Preschoolers with ASD

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Abstract

To investigate the early development of episodic memory and future thinking in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we selected 94 participants each from a group of ASD and typically developing (TD) preschoolers. They were required to remember newly-acquired knowledge sources and anticipate action timings necessary for future events. Five-year-old children with ASD remembered their knowledge sources similar to TD children; however, the 6-year-old children performed more poorly than their TD counterparts. ASD children failed to anticipate future action timings in comparison with TD children. Although source memory and future thinking were related in TD children, they were unrelated in children with ASD. The results suggest that episodic memory and foresight are deficient and unintegrated in ASD children during the preschool years.

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Acknowledgments

The study was supported by the Organization for Promoting Neurodevelopmental Disorder Research. We are grateful to Remi Kosaka, Minori Nakamura, Seiko Nabatame, Eriko Gavinio for their help in data collection, and to Drs. Noriko Kimura and Sayaka Yoshimura for diagnosing children with ASD. We also thank the children, teachers, and principals at the nursery and primary schools in Yasu, Shiga, and Sakai, Osaka, Japan, for their cooperation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of School Education, Graduate School of School Education, Joetsu University of Education, 1 Yamayashi-machi, Joetsu, 943-8512, Japan

    Mika Naito

  2. Department of Education, Kansai University of Welfare Science, Kashiwara, Japan

    Chie Hotta

  3. Faculty of Human Health Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Motomi Toichi

  4. The Organization for Promoting Neurodevelopmental Disorder Research, Kyoto, Japan

    Motomi Toichi

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  1. Mika Naito
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Correspondence to Mika Naito.

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Naito, M., Hotta, C. & Toichi, M. Development of Episodic Memory and Foresight in High-Functioning Preschoolers with ASD. J Autism Dev Disord 50, 529–539 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04274-9

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