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Understanding Speech in Primary Schoolchildren with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Its Relationship with EEG Characteristics

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Abstract

The article discusses heterogeneity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in terms of the severity of autistic manifestations, cognitive, and speech abilities in children with different levels of functioning. The results of a study of speech understanding at the level of phonology, vocabulary, morphosyntax, and discourse in primary schoolchildren with ASD are presented. The study has revealed correlations between the severity of autistic manifestations of a socio-communicative nature and nonverbal IQ with various aspects of speech understanding. Comparison of the correlations in the subgroups of children with different levels of functioning detected the differences between the subgroups, indicating different mechanisms of disorders. The differences of EEG spectral characteristics in children with ASD compared with the age norm and characteristics in the studied subgroups are shown. The differences in EEG spectral characteristics have been found between subgroups with ASD with different levels of functioning: the subgroup with less pronounced disorders is characterized by a higher index of β2-activity, while the subgroup with more pronounced disorders, by a higher index of slow-wave activity.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to all the study participants.

Funding

The research was conducted within the State Task of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation no. 073-00110-22-06, December 12, 2022.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal Resource Center for Comprehensive Support for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Moscow, Russia

    E. Yu. Davydova, K. R. Salimova, D. V. Davydov, D. S. Pereverzeva, U. A. Mamokhina, K. K. Danilina, S. A. Tyushkevich & N. L. Gorbachevskaya

  2. Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia

    E. Yu. Davydova

Authors
  1. E. Yu. Davydova
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  2. K. R. Salimova
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  3. D. V. Davydov
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  4. D. S. Pereverzeva
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  5. U. A. Mamokhina
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  6. K. K. Danilina
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  7. S. A. Tyushkevich
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  8. N. L. Gorbachevskaya
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All authors have equally contributed to the preparation of this manuscript.

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Correspondence to K. R. Salimova.

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Conflict of interests. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Statement of compliance with standards of research involving humans as subjects. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments and approved by the institutional research committee of Moscow State University of Psychology and Education (Moscow). Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants involved in the study.

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Translated by E. Larina

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Davydova, E.Y., Salimova, K.R., Davydov, D.V. et al. Understanding Speech in Primary Schoolchildren with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Its Relationship with EEG Characteristics. Hum Physiol 49, 225–234 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0362119723700354

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0362119723700354

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