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Part of whole: Children with specific language impairment, but not those with autism, struggle with finding a shape embedded in a larger picture.
Children with autism have similar language deficits to those who have specific language impairment (SLI), but are better at seeing the details in a scene, according to a study published 15 May in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders1. The results support the idea that the two disorders resemble each other only superficially.
Young children who have problems with language, but don’t have any other apparent symptoms, are diagnosed with SLI. Because the disorder can be outwardly similar to autism, however, clinicians sometimes confuse the two.
Studies have shown that the two disorders have distinct features, including the types of language errors involved, their underlying genetics and the associated brain structure in language-processing regions.
In the new study, researchers looked at 32 children with autism, 14 of whom have language problems, 19 children with SLI and 61 typically developing children, all between 5 and 12 years of age.
Children who have SLI and those who have both autism and language problems perform equally poorly on language tasks that require them to repeat nonsense words and complex sentences.
The researchers also used a test in which children are asked to identify a particular shape, such as a triangle, within a picture of a larger object, such as a baby carriage. The children can use a cutout of the triangle to help them find the correct shape.
Some studies have shown that children with autism are faster and more accurate at this test than controls are. Others have seen no difference.
In the new study, the children with autism performed similarly to controls on this test. However, children with SLI were slower and less accurate than controls, suggesting that they are less attuned to detail.
The results show a cognitive deficit in children with SLI that is not shared by children with autism.
References:
1: Taylor L.J. et al. J. Autism Dev. Disord. Epub ahead of print (2013) PubMed
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