You may point, but do not touch: Impact of gesture-types and cognition on language in typical and atypical development

[EN] Background Evidence shows that the relation with the referent (object manipulation, contact/no contact pointing) and the different hand features (index finger/open palm) when pointing indicate different levels of cognitive and linguistic attainment in typical development (TD). This evidences the close link between pointing, cognition and language in TD, but this relation is understudied in autism. Moreover, the longitudinal pathway these abilities follow remains unexplored and it is unclear what specific role (predictor or mediator) pointing and cognition have in both typical and atypical language development. Aims The first aim was to investigate whether pointing hand features (index finger/open palm) and relation with the referent (manipulation, contact and no contact pointing) similarly predict language in children with and without autism. The second aim was to explore whether cognition mediates the longitudinal relationship between pointing and language development. Methods & Procedures Sixteen children with autism, 13 children at high risk (HR) for autism and 18 TD children participated in an interactive gesture-elicitation task and were tested on standardised cognitive and expressive language batteries in a longitudinal design. A two-step analysis consisted of a stepwise linear regression and mediation analyses. First, the linear regression identified which hand features and types of relation with the referent predicted expressive language in all groups. Second, three mediation analyses (one per group) assessed the predictor/mediator role of the variables that met significance in the regression analysis. Outcomes & Results Both cognition and index finger pointing were direct longitudinal predictors of further expressive language skills in the autism group. In TD and HR groups this relation was mediated by age. Conclusions & Implications Findings highlight the role of age in communicative development, but suggest a key role of cognition and index finger use in the longitudinal relationship between pointing gestures and expressive language development in children with autism. This has important clinical implications and supports the view that index finger pointing production might be a useful tool in the intervention for communicative and language abilities in autism. What this paper adds What is already known on the subject There is evidence that no contact pointing is associated with complex socio-cognitive abilities that underpin communication in TD. Similarly, studies in TD show that index finger pointing is closely linked with language acquisition. However, it is unclear whether these associations are present in autism. In addition, the mediating (or predictive) role of cognition in the pointing-language relation has not yet been explored neither in typical nor in atypical development. What this paper adds to existing knowledge This paper shows that index finger pointing and cognition are direct longitudinal predictors of expressive language in the autism group. In the other groups this relation is mediated by age. This suggests that there is a window of opportunity for pointing to predict expressive language whereas the predictive value of cognition expands in development. Based on this, children with autism would share the same language predictors as TD children, but with delays. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? This study reveals that index finger, age and cognition reliably predict spoken language in autism, which may indicate that early prelinguistic intervention based on pointing production and the improvement of cognitive skills might have a positive impact on spoken language in this population.H2020Marie Sklodowska-CurieActions, Grant/Award Number: 676063

To Name or Not to Name:Eye Movements and Semantic Processing in RAN and Reading

This study examined the well-established relationship between rapid naming and reading. Rapid automatized naming (RAN) has long been demonstrated as a strong predictor of reading abilities. Despite extensive research spanning over 4 decades, the underlying mechanisms of these causes remain a subject of inquiry. The current study investigated the role of eye movements and semantic processing in defining the RAN-reading relationship. The participants in this study were 42 English-speaking undergraduate students at a British university. The materials included a word reading task, two conventional RAN tasks (object and digit), and two RAN-like categorization tasks (object and digit). The results obtained suggested the interdependence between rapid naming and semantic processing. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that oculomotor control remains an integral part of variability in RAN and reading performance. Taken together, our results suggest that RAN and reading measures are correlated because both require rapid and accurate retrieval of phonological representations, semantic properties of visual stimuli, and stable co-ordination of eye movements

Role of Subtitles in L2 Acquisition and Comprehension: A Pilot Study of Hearing-Impaired Students

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether subtitles can facilitate language processing in English as a second language (L2) and, if so, which subtitles would be more beneficial for hard-of-hearing students with Norwegian as their first language. In total, 14 advanced learners of L2 English were recruited and tested on English comprehension and target vocabulary items based on video material provided with subtitles in English or Norwegian in comparison to no subtitles (control condition). Subtitles aided comprehension of the plot, tested immediately after clip presentation, with an advantage for English subtitles over Norwegian subtitles and no subtitles. Furthermore, subtitles were found to enhance the performance of the participants with moderate hearing loss more than they did for mild hearing loss participants. The inclusion of English subtitles only marginally enhanced vocabulary understanding for both mild and moderate hearing loss students. The findings of this study can be transferred to classrooms and may supplement other methods of adjusting the academic environment, in order to meet the need of students with hearing loss

Naturalistic acquisition in an early language classroom

This study investigated whether it is possible to provide naturalistic second language acquisition (SLA) of vocabulary for young learners in a classroom situation without resorting to a classical immersion approach. Participants were 60 first-grade pupils in two Norwegian elementary schools in their first year. The control group followed regular instruction as prescribed by the school curriculum, while the experimental group received increased naturalistic target language input. This entailed extensive use of English by the teacher during English classes, and also during morning meetings and for simple instructions and classroom management throughout the day. Our hypothesis was that it is possible to facilitate naturalistic acquisition through better quality target language exposure within a normal curriculum. The students' English vocabulary knowledge was measured using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, version 4 (PPVT-IV, Dunn and Dunn, 2007a), at the beginning and the end of the first year of school. Findings are that (1) early-start second-language (L2) programs in school do not in themselves guarantee vocabulary development in the first year, (2) a focus on increased exposure to the L2 can lead to a significant increase in receptive vocabulary comprehension in the course of only 8 months, and (3) even with relatively modest input, learners in such an early-start L2 program can display vocabulary acquisition comparable in some respects to that of younger native children matched on vocabulary size. The overall conclusion is that naturalistic vocabulary acquisition is in fact possible in a classroom setting

Gesture and Language Trajectories in Early Development: An Overview From the Autism Spectrum Disorder Perspective

The well-documented gesture-language relation in typical communicative development (TD) remains understudied in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research on early communication skills shows that gesture production is a strong predictor of language in TD, but little is known about the association between gestures and language in ASD. This review focuses on exploring this relation by addressing two topics: the reliability of gestures as predictor of language competences in ASD and the types of potential differences (quantitative, qualitative, or both) in the gesture-language trajectory in children on the autism spectrum compared to typically developing children. We find evidence that gesture production is indeed a reliable predictor of early communicative skills and that both quantitative and qualitative differences have been established in research in the development of verbal and non-verbal communication skills in ASD, with lower gesture rates at the quantitative level, and a trajectory that starts deviating from the TD trajectory only at some point after the first year of life

More mental rotation time does not imply more mental effort: Pupillary diameters do not change with angular distance

The ability to mentally rotate objects in space is a fundamental cognitive capacity. Previous studies showed that the time to rotate the image of a figure to match another increases progressively with angular disparity. It remains unclear whether this increase in response time with angular disparity could reflect increased processing operations or more cognitive effort instead of a sustained use of a ‘rotate’ mechanism without a change in workload. We collected response times as well as pupillary responses that index cognitive workload and activity in the brainstem’s locus coeruleus, from a sample of 38 young adults performing a chronometric mental rotations task. The results showed the expected increase in response times but no increase in pupil diameters between 60, 120, and 180 degrees of rotation, suggesting no significant changes in arousal levels when rotating figures near and far. This indicates that during mental rotation the load on cognitive resources remains constant irrespective of angular distance