Lexical processing in individuals with high-functioning autism and Asperger's disorder.
Masked word-priming splits high-functioning autism from Asperger's: the latter looks typical, the former looks scattered.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Speirs et al. (2011) ran a masked-priming task. They flashed words too fast to see. Then they measured how fast people read the next word.
They tested three groups: high-functioning autism (HFA), Asperger's disorder (AD), and typical adults. Everyone had average or better IQ.
What they found
The AD group looked just like typical adults. Their reading speed jumped when the hidden word matched. This shows normal automatic word links.
The HFA group gave messy results. Some showed priming, some did not. The authors call this 'ambiguous' processing.
How this fits with other research
Kamio et al. (2007) saw zero priming in HFA adults. Speirs et al. (2011) now shows the picture is less clear. The new work splits HFA from AD, explaining why past studies conflict.
Bassett-Gunter et al. (2017) used brain waves and found adults with ASD reach the same meaning, just later. Samantha’s behavioural data match: AD use the fast route, HFA may need the slow one.
Richman et al. (2001) found intact priming in HFA teens with simple words. Samantha’s harder task may be why they now see ambiguity only in HFA, not AD.
Why it matters
If you test language, do not lump HFA and AD together. AD may ace rapid word tasks; HFA may look lost. Give HFA extra wait time or visual supports. Try teaching word links with slower, conscious drills instead of fast priming games.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The presence or absence of clinically delayed language development prior to 3 years of age is a key, but contentious, clinical feature distinguishing autism from Asperger's disorder. The aim of this study was to examine language processing in children with high-functioning autism (HFA) and Asperger's disorder (AD) using a task which taps lexical processing, a core language ability. Eleven individuals with HFA, 11 with AD and 11 typically developing (TD) individuals completed a masked priming task, a psycholinguistic paradigm that directly examines lexical processes. Within-group analyses revealed the AD and TD groups had intact lexical processing systems and orthographic processing of the written word. The outcomes for the HFA group were ambiguous, suggesting that their lexical processing system is either delayed or is structurally different. This suggests that fundamental differences in lexical processing exist between HFA and AD and remain evident later in development.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2011 · doi:10.1177/1362361310386501