The differential relations between verbal, numerical and spatial working memory abilities and children’s reading comprehension

Working memory predicts children's reading comprehension but it is not clear whether this relation is due to a modality-specific or general working memory. This study, which investigated the relations between children's reading skills and working memory (WM) abilities in 3 modalities, extends previous work by including measures of both reading comprehension and reading accuracy. Tests of word reading accuracy and reading comprehension, and working memory tests in three different modalities (verbal, numerical and spatial), were given to 197 6- to 11-year old children. The results support the view that working memory tasks that require the processing and recall of symbolic information (words and numbers) are better predictors of reading comprehension than tasks that require visuo-spatial storage and processing. The different measures of verbal and numerical working memory were not equally good predictors of reading comprehension, but their predictive power depended on neither the word vs. numerical contrast nor the complexity of the processing component. In general, performance on the verbal and numerical working memory tasks predicted reading comprehension, but not reading accuracy, and spatial WM did not predict either. The patterns of relations between the measures of working memory and reading comprehension ability were relatively constant across the age group tested

Knowing me, knowing you: perspectives on awareness in autism

Purpose: This paper raises important questions from the different perspectives on autism research that arose from a seminar on autism and technology, held as part of an ESRC-funded series on innovative technologies for autism. Design/methodology/approach: The paper focuses on the roles of technology in understanding questions about different perspectives on autism: how do people on the spectrum see neurotypicals (people without autism) and vice versa?; how do we use eye-gaze differently from each other?; how might technology influence what is looked at and how we measure this?; what differences might there be in how people use imitation of others?; and finally, how should we study and treat any differences? Findings: We synthesise common themes from invited talks and responses. The audience discussions highlighted the ways in which we take account of human variation, how we can understand the perspective of another, particularly across third-person and second-person approaches in research, and how researchers and stakeholders engage with each other. Originality/value: We argue that the question of perspectives is important for considering how people with autism and neurotypical people interact in everyday contexts, and how researchers frame their research questions and methods. We propose that stakeholders and researchers can fruitfully engage directly in discussions of research, in ways that benefit both research and practice

How getting noticed helps getting on: successful attention capture doubles children's cooperative play

Cooperative social interaction is a complex skill that involves maintaining shared attention and continually negotiating a common frame of reference. Privileged in human evolution, cooperation provides support for the development of social-cognitive skills. We hypothesize that providing audio support for capturing playmates' attention will increase cooperative play in groups of young children. Attention capture was manipulated via an audio-augmented toy to boost children's attention bids. Study 1 (48 6- to 11-year-olds) showed that the augmented toy yielded significantly more cooperative play in triads compared to the same toy without augmentation. In Study 2 (33 7- to 9-year-olds) the augmented toy supported greater success of attention bids, which were associated with longer cooperative play, associated in turn with better group narratives. The results show how cooperation requires moment-by-moment coordination of attention and how we can manipulate environments to reveal and support mechanisms of social interaction. Our findings have implications for understanding the role of joint attention in the development of cooperative action and shared understanding

Inhibitory control and lexical alignment in children with an autism spectrum disorder

Background: Two experiments investigated the contribution of conflict inhibition to pragmatic deficits in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Typical adults’ tendency to re-use interlocutors’ referential choices (lexical alignment) implicates communicative perspective-taking, which is regulated by conflict inhibition. We examined whether children with ASD spontaneously lexically aligned, and whether conflict inhibition mediated alignment. Methods: Children with ASD and chronological- and verbal-age-matched typically-developing controls played a picture-naming game. We manipulated whether the experimenter used a preferred or dispreferred name for each picture, and examined whether children subsequently used the same name. Results: Children with ASD spontaneously lexically aligned, to the same extent as typically-developing controls. Alignment was unrelated to conflict inhibition in both groups. Conclusions: Children with ASD’s referential communication is robust to impairments in conflict inhibition under some circumstances. Their pragmatic deficits may be mitigated in a highly structured interaction

The role of learning goals in the design of ILEs: some issues to consider

Part of the motivation behind the evolution of learning environments is the idea of providing students with individualized instructional strategies that allow them to learn as much as possible. It has been suggested that the goals an individual holds create a framework or orientation from which they react and respond to events. There is a large evidence-based literature which supports the notion of mastery and performance approaches to learning and which identifies distinct behavioural patterns associated with each. However, it remains unclear how these orientations manifest themselves within the individual: an important question to address when applying goal theory to the development of a goal-sensitive learner model. This paper exposes some of these issues by describing two empirical studies. They approach the subject from different perspectives, one from the implementation of an affective computing system and the other a classroom-based study, have both encountered the same empirical and theoretical problems: the dispositional/situational aspect and the dimensionality of goal orientation

Innovative technologies for autism: critical reflections on digital bubbles

Purpose: there is increasing interest from researchers, teachers and other professionals, individuals with autism, and families about the potential for innovative technologies to transform learning experiences and facilitate friendships and social networks. Media accounts have highlighted both the apparently miraculous impacts of technology on supporting communication and learning for people with autism, as well as significant concerns about whether technology use is healthy, safe and socially appropriate for children and young people. Rarely, however, is any evidence reported to support either set of claims. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach: this short paper reports on an Economic and Social Research Council-funded seminar series in the UK that is critically reviewing and discussing the field with respect to the research evidence base but also the assumptions that are made about where, how and whether innovative technologies may be useful for people with autism and their families. Findings: the first seminar in the series focused on whether technologies create a social bubble for people with autism and presented research demonstrating that technology use can be positive, supportive and rewarding. Originality/value: this paper offers an up-to-date insight into some of key debates about the benefits and limitations of social technologies for people with autism. Its value lies in raising questions about, and discussing evidence that challenges, some of the negative assumptions that are often perpetuated by the media about the potentially harmful effects of technologies

Around the table: Are multiple-touch surfaces better than single-touch for children's collaborative interactions?

This paper presents a classroom study that investigated the potential of using touch tabletop technology to support children's collaborative learning interactions. Children aged 7-10 worked in groups of three on a collaborative planning task in which they designed a seating plan for their classroom. In the single-touch condition, the tabletop surface allowed only one child to interact with the digital content at a time. In the multiple-touch condition, the children could interact with the digital content simultaneously. Results showed that touch condition did not affect the frequency or equity of interactions, but did influence the nature of children's discussion. In the multiple-touch condition, children talked more about the task; in the single-touch condition, they talked more about turn taking. We also report age and gender differences

‘Whose agenda? Who knows best? Whose voice?’ Co-creating a technology research roadmap with autism stakeholders

Technologies play vital roles in the learning and participation of autistic people and yet have mostly been conceptualised according to a medical model of disability. In this stakeholder review, the comments of 240 participants from a two-year seminar series focusing on autism and technology were analysed to co-construct an understanding of how research could develop more inclusively. Our socio-cultural analysis shows that stakeholders were very positive about the roles that technologies can play in many areas of life, but that these technologies need to be developed and evaluated according to the needs and preferences of autistic people and their families. We propose an inclusive common social framework for research based on the core themes of social inclusion, perspectives, and participation and agency. Such a framework requires the field to recognise that some current practices are exclusionary and that a commitment to action is needed in order to make positive changes

‘A child with autism only has one childhood’: main themes and questions for research from the ‘Digital Bubbles’ seminar series

Purpose: This paper presents an overview of the main messages and key questions for further research arising from the seven-seminar series entitled, “Innovative Technologies for Autism: Critical Reflections on Digital Bubbles”, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in the UK. Design/methodology/approach: a synthesis of the main ideas is presented, drawing on the presentations, discussions, participant feedback, and short papers from across the seminar series, which took place between November 2014-16. Findings: There were many positive examples where technologies were positioned and used as facilitative ‘bridges’ between ideas, communities, understanding, and experiences. Researchers and community stakeholders also emphasised the importance of taking different perspectives and working in stronger partnerships with each other. Four overarching research questions were developed from these themes to provide a roadmap for future research, relating to: (i) responsible innovation, (ii) technology-enabled social interaction, (iii) learning and pedagogy, and (iv) engagement. Originality/value: The findings and methodologies produced by the Digital Bubbles seminar series, available on the project website (http://digitalbubbles.org.uk/) and in a series of short papers, provide a rich repository of state-of-the-art thinking in the field of autism and technology that is being utilised nationally and internationally in teaching and learning. This paper suggests some valuable future research directions and highlights the importance of establishing and maintaining multi-disciplinary research teams, with autistic people and their families at their core

Does parent stress predict the quality of life of children with a diagnosis of ADHD?:A comparison of parent and child perspectives

Objective: There are indicators that parental psychological factors may affect how parents evaluate their child’s quality of life (QoL) when the child has a health condition. This study examined the impact of parents’ perceived stress on parent and child ratings of the QoL of children with ADHD. Method: A cross-sectional sample of 45 matched parent–child dyads completed parallel versions of the KIDSCREEN-27. Children were 8 to 14 years with clinician diagnosed ADHD. Results: Parents who rated their child’s QoL lower than their child had higher perceived stress scores. Parent stress was a unique predictor of child QoL from parent proxy-rated but not child-rated QoL scores. Conclusion: Parents’ perceived stress may play an important role in their assessments of their child’s QoL, suggesting both parent and child perspectives of QoL should be utilized wherever possible. Interventions that target parent stress may contribute to improvements in the child’s QoL. </jats:p