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Lexical Processing in Toddlers with ASD: Does Weak Central Coherence Play a Role?

Susan Ellis Weismer1,2, Eileen Haebig3,4,5, Jan Edwards3,4

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This study found no evidence that toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prioritize local over global processing, challenging the weak central coherence (WCC) theory’s explanation for vocabulary delays.

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is associated with varied cognitive profiles.
  • The Weak Central Coherence (WCC) theory posits a preference for local over global processing in ASD.
  • This cognitive style is hypothesized to contribute to social and communication challenges, including vocabulary delays.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if vocabulary delays in toddlers with ASD are linked to a cognitive style prioritizing local over global information processing.
  • To test the validity of the Weak Central Coherence (WCC) theory in explaining lexical processing in young children with ASD.

Main Methods:

  • A looking-while-listening task was employed with 30 toddlers with ASD and 30 typically developing controls.
  • The task assessed word recognition disruption based on perceptual (local) versus semantic (global) similarities of named images.
  • Performance was compared across conditions with varying degrees of feature overlap.

Main Results:

  • Perceptual feature overlap, indicative of local processing, did not significantly disrupt word recognition in toddlers with ASD.
  • Semantic feature overlap, indicative of global processing, also did not show differential disruption.
  • Results provided no consistent evidence supporting the WCC theory for lexical processing in this group, except possibly in a subset with very low vocabulary skills.

Conclusions:

  • The findings do not support the Weak Central Coherence theory as a general explanation for lexical processing in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder.
  • Vocabulary delays in ASD may not stem from a pervasive local processing bias.
  • Further research is needed to explore alternative cognitive mechanisms underlying language development in ASD.