Do mirrors facilitate acquisition of motor imitation in children diagnosed with autism?

A team worked with one 2-year-old boy with autism. The boy could not yet copy gross motor moves like clapping or stomping.

Therapists added a full-length mirror next to the teaching table. They showed the move, let the boy see himself in the mirror, then faded the mirror away.

They tracked how many teaching trials he needed to master each move.

With the mirror, the boy learned new moves faster. When the mirror was removed later, he still copied the moves correctly.

The skill stuck without extra help.

La Malfa et al. (2004) looked at many studies and found kids with autism usually copy slowly because their brain maps the move wrong, not because they do not care. The mirror may fix that mapping by giving instant visual feedback.

Schunke et al. (2016) and Sowden et al. (2016) tested adults with autism and saw little or no mirror benefit. The new study shows the trick works for toddlers. Age, not method, explains the clash.

Tsiouri et al. (2012) also used motor imitation to spark first words. Both studies show that when you speed up the body copy, other skills follow.

If you teach toddlers with autism, place a cheap mirror next to your teaching spot. One child learned arm and leg moves in fewer trials and kept the skill after the mirror went away. Try it during gross motor programs and watch for faster acquisition.