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Immediate imitation and joint attention in young children with autism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 1998

HERBERT ROEYERS ,
PAULETTE VAN OOST  and
SYBIL BOTHUYNE
HERBERT ROEYERS
Affiliation:
University of Ghent
PAULETTE VAN OOST
Affiliation:
University of Ghent
SYBIL BOTHUYNE
Affiliation:
University of Ghent
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Abstract

There is growing scientific interest in the precursors to the ability of conceiving other people's minds. The present study investigates two candidate precursors, imitation and joint attention, in young children with autism and a control group of nonautistic children with a developmental delay. Children with autism were found to be impaired or delayed in both abilities. Gestural and procedural imitation were significantly related to mental age and chronological age in subjects with autism. Although the evidence for an autism-specific deficit appears to be stronger in the domain of joint-attention behaviors than it is in the domain of imitation, it seems premature to reject imitation as a possible precursor to the development of mindreading skills. Systematic investigations of the imitation deficit in autism are urgently needed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 10 , Issue 3 , September 1998 , pp. 441 - 450
Copyright
© 1998 Cambridge University Press

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