Electronic Toys Decrease the Quantity and Lexical Diversity of Spoken Language Produced by Children With Autism...

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Autism Spectrum Disorder Research

Background:

• Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience language delays.
• Play-based interactions are crucial for language development in young children.
• The impact of electronic toys on the quality of parent-child play and language acquisition is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how electronic toys affect the quantity and lexical diversity of spoken language in children with ASD and typical development (TD).
• To compare language output during play with electronic versus traditional toys.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-eight parent-child dyads (14 ASD, 14 TD) participated.
• Children engaged in play sessions with both electronic and traditional toy sets in a counter-balanced order.
• Child speech was transcribed to measure the number of utterances and number of different word (NDW) roots per minute.

Main Results:

• Both children with ASD and TD produced significantly less speech and fewer unique words when playing with electronic toys compared to traditional toys.
• Children's communicative contributions decreased, as they appeared to defer to the electronic toys during interaction.
• Toy type demonstrably influences children's engagement and vocalizations during play.

Conclusions:

• Electronic toys may hinder language development by reducing children's opportunities for verbal interaction.
• Traditional toys appear to support richer language and communication during play-based learning.
• Interventions for children with ASD should prioritize traditional toys to maximize language and social engagement.