Motor Imitation in Young Children with Autism: What's the Object?

Two studies investigated the nature of motor imitation in young children with autism. Study 1 compared different types of motor imitation in 18 autistic children, 18 children with developmental delay, and 18 normally developing children. Results revealed weaker imitation skills for the autistic group, though all groups demonstrated a similar pattern of performance across different imitation domains. Imitation of body movements was more difficult than imitation of actions with objects, and imitation of nonmeaningful actions was more difficult than imitation of meaningful actions. Study 2 investigated concurrent and predictive relations between imitation and other developmental skills within a sample of 26 two-year-old children with autism. Results suggested that imitation of body movements and imitation of actions with objects represent independent dimensions. Imitation of body movements was concurrently and predictively associated with expressive language skills, and imitation of actions with objects was concurrently associated with play skills. Improvements in both motor imitation domains occurred over a 1-year period.

[1]  M. Rutter.  Diagnosis and definition of childhood autism , 1978, Journal of autism and childhood schizophrenia.

[2]  S. Bryson,et al.  Imitation and action in autism: a critical review. , 1994, Psychological bulletin.

[3]  I. Užgiris.  Two Functions of Imitation During Infancy , 1981 .

[4]  E. Zigler,et al.  Imitation: A developmental perspective , 1978 .

[5]  B. Pennington,et al.  A theoretical approach to the deficits in infantile autism , 1991, Development and Psychopathology.

[6]  C. Lord,et al.  The role of age at assessment, developmental level, and test in the stability of intelligence scores in young autistic children , 1989, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[7]  Deborah G. Garfin,et al.  Validity and reliability of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale with autistic adolescents , 1988, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[8]  K. Nelson,et al.  The Many faces of imitation in language learning , 1989 .

[9]  C. Eckerman,et al.  Toddlers' emerging ways of achieving social coordinations with a peer. , 1989, Child development.

[10]  J. Piaget.  Play, dreams and imitation in childhood , 1951 .

[11]  R. D. Kavanaugh,et al.  Imitation of live and televised models by children one to three years of age. , 1977, Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development.

[12]  D. Cicchetti,et al.  Developing criteria for establishing interrater reliability of specific items: applications to assessment of adaptive behavior. , 1981, American journal of mental deficiency.

[13]  F. Curcio.  Sensorimotor functioning and communication in mute autistic children , 1978, Journal of autism and childhood schizophrenia.

[14]  C. Snow.  Imitativeness: A Trait or a Skill? , 1989 .

[15]  M. Drake.  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed. rev.) , 1988 .

[16]  J G Hammes,et al.  Precursors of symbol formation and childhood autism , 1981, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[17]  K. Loveland,et al.  Imitation and expression of facial affect in autism , 1994, Development and Psychopathology.

[18]  M. Killen,et al.  Imitation of Actions with Objects: The Role of Social Meaning , 1981 .

[19]  M. Sigman,et al.  Cognitive and language skills in autistic, mentally retarded, and normal children. , 1984 .

[20]  M. Prior,et al.  Motor imitation abilities and neurological signs in autistic children , 1985, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[21]  G. Dawson,et al.  Imitation and social responsiveness in autistic children , 1984, Journal of abnormal child psychology.

[22]  Dc Washington.  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Ed. , 1994 .

[23]  M. Ohta.  Cognitive disorders of infantile autism: A study employing the WISC, spatial relationship conceptualization, and Gesture Imitations , 1987, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[24]  E Abravanel,et al.  Action imitation: the early phase of infancy. , 1976, Child development.

[25]  W. Demyer,et al.  Imitation in autistic, early schizophrenic, and non-psychotic subnormal children , 1972, Journal of autism and childhood schizophrenia.

[26]  Ina C. Uzgiris,et al.  Assessment in Infancy: Ordinal Scales of Psychological Development , 1989 .

[27]  Jennifer R. Mitchell,et al.  Communication and sensorimotor functioning in children with autism , 1990, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[28]  M. Snow,et al.  Affect and cognition in autism. , 1989, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[29]  N. Bayley.  Manual for the Bayley Scales of Infant Development , 1969 .

[30]  Patterns of Gestural, Vocal, and Verbal Imitation Performance in Infancy. , 1984 .

[31]  A. Meltzoff,et al.  Newborn infants imitate adult facial gestures , 1983 .

[32]  L. A. Kurdek,et al.  Vocal and Gestural Imitation in 8-, 14-, and 20-Month-Old Children , 1977 .

[33]  N. Taylor,et al.  Symbolic play in autistic, Down's, and normal children of equivalent mental age , 1982, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[34]  Tony Charman,et al.  Another look at imitation in autism , 1994, Development and Psychopathology.

[35]  W. Stone,et al.  Play and imitation skills in the diagnosis of autism in young children. , 1990, Pediatrics.

[36]  Effects of Model and Action on Imitation in Infancy. , 1983 .

[37]  S. Morgan,et al.  Do autistic children differ from retarded and normal children in Piagetian sensorimotor functioning? , 1989, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[38]  E. F. Masur,et al.  Transitions in Representational Ability: Infants' Verbal, Vocal, and Action Imitation during the Second Year. , 1993 .