Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Using the Visual World Paradigm to Study Sentence Comprehension in Mandarin-Speaking Children with Autism
Published on: October 3, 2018
[Autism and mental retardation: a study of the early social communication]
M Viellard1, D Da Fonseca, S De Martino
1Centre ressource autisme PACA, service de pédopsychiatrie hôpital Sainte-Marguerite, 270, boulevard Sainte-Marguerite, 13009 Marseille, France.
Objective:
To determine developmental communication profiles in young autistic children with mental retardation.
Methods:
A group of 19 autistic children (mean age=43 months) were matched with a group of 11 mentally retarded children (mean age=39 months) on mental age (17,6 months). All of these children were without speech (less than 5 words of vocabulary). Communication skills were assessed with the Guidetti-Tourrette scales (ECSP), French adaptation of the Seibert-Hogan scales.
Results:
Autistic children displayed a much lower score than mentally retarded children in the 3 functions of early social communication (behavior regulation, social interaction and joint attention). The developmental communication profiles was the same in the 2 groups.
Discussion:
The results showed evidence of distortion in autistic children development: they displayed important deficits in communication skills, in comparison with cognitive skills. Autistic children mainly displayed requesting gestures: they used adults to help them to reach a goal, instead of regarding them as social partners. However, young children who have mental age less than 18 months mainly use the same functions of communication, with or without autistic trouble.
Conclusions:
There is a same developmental sequence in communication skills in young children, with or without autistic trouble.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Autism Spectrum Disorder
These core symptoms manifest differently among individuals, ranging from mild to severe. The disorder's complexity extends beyond its clinical presentation, encompassing a diverse range of biological, cognitive, and sociocultural influences.
Modeling in Therapy
Participant Modeling
Participant modeling involves therapists demonstrating calm and effective behaviors in situations...
Relationship with Parents: Attachment
Intellectual Disability
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
Stella Chess...
Language Development
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...

