Quantifying Question Asking in Young Autistic Children: Exploring the Role of Context

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Linguistics
• Autism Spectrum Disorder Research

Background:

• Social communication challenges are a core feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• Question asking is a key aspect of social interaction and a focus in ASD interventions.
• Limited understanding exists regarding how different social contexts influence question production in autistic children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify and compare the frequency, form, and function of questions asked by autistic children in two distinct social contexts.
• To investigate the impact of context (semi-structured vs. unstructured play) on question characteristics in young autistic children.

Main Methods:

• Studied 15 autistic children (mean age 5.6 years) in a semi-structured "tablet task" and an unstructured naturalistic play session.
• Quantified question frequency (rate per minute), form (wh-, yes/no, intonation), and function (information-seeking, directive, initiation/maintenance).

Main Results:

• Autistic children asked questions slightly more frequently during play (1.35/min) than the tablet task (0.81/min), though not significantly different.
• Significantly more yes/no and intonation questions were produced during play compared to the tablet task.
• Information-seeking questions were similar across contexts, while directive and initiation/maintenance questions were significantly more frequent during play.

Conclusions:

• Context plays a crucial role in shaping the form and function of questions used by autistic children.
• Findings highlight the importance of considering social context in the assessment and intervention of question-asking skills in autistic children.