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Cited by 63Autism Spectrum Disorder ResearchChild and Animal Learning DevelopmentLanguage Development and Disorders

Intact inner speech use in autism spectrum disorder: evidence from a short‐term memory task

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Williams, David, Happé, Francesca, Jarrold, Christopher·2008·Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
DOI 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01836.x
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Abstract

Background: Inner speech has been linked to higher‐order cognitive processes including ‘theory of mind’, self‐awareness and executive functioning, all of which are impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Individuals with ASD, themselves, report a propensity for visual rather than verbal modes of thinking. This study explored the extent to which children with ASD used inner speech or visual imagery to support recall from short‐term memory. Method: Twenty‐five children with ASD and 20 comparison children with moderate learning disabilities completed an immediate serial recall task, in which stimuli consisted of items with either phonologically similar features, visuo‐spatially similar features or control items which were neither visuo‐spatially nor phonologically similar. Results: ASD and comparison participants, with verbal mental ages above 7 years, recalled phonologically similar stimuli less well than control stimuli, indicating that both groups were using inner speech to recode visually presented information into a phonological code. In contrast, those participants with verbal mental ages below 7 years, whether with ASD or not, recalled visuo‐spatially similar stimuli less well than control stimuli, indicating visual rather than phonological coding. This developmental pattern mirrors that found in typically developing children. Conclusions: Under experimental conditions, individuals with ASD use inner speech to the same extent as individuals without ASD of a comparable mental age.

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  • Both ASD and control children showed evidence of the phonological similarity effect on a verbal recall task.

    “Using a task that included pictures that were either phonologically similar, visuospatially similar, or dissimilar in both respects, both ASD and control children showed evidence of the phonological similarity effect, proposed to occur when inner speech is used to recode pictures into words to assist recall.”

    From Inner Speech: Development, Cognitive Functions, Phenomenology, and Neurobiology (2015) · cites this paper as Williams, Happé, and Jarrold (2008)

    The Discussion reports a phonological similarity effect in both the ASD and comparison groups, but only among children with verbal mental ages above 7 years. The Results report no significant phonological similarity effect among children with verbal mental ages below 7 years, so the citing sentence omits an important qualification. (LLM, conf=0.90)

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1 of the 43 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Baddeley, A.D. (1986). Working memory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  2. Coltheart, M. (1981). The MRC Psycholinguistic Data- base. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psycho- logy, 33A, 497-505.
  3. Ó 2007 The Authors Journal compilation Ó 2007 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. 14697610, 2008, 1, Downloaded from https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01836.x by Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Wiley Online Library on [23/06/2026]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License · DOI
  4. Wechsler, D. (1990). Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence -Revised (UK Edition). Sidcup, Kent: The Psychological Corporation.

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Authors
Williams, D., Happé, F., & Jarrold, C.
Affiliations
  • King's College London (GB)
  • University of Bristol (GB)
Corresponding author
Williams, David
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2007-12-20
Volume
49
Issue
1
Pages
51-58
ISSN
  • 0021-9630 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-7610
DOI
10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01836.x
OpenAlex
W2164588681
Cited by
63
References
43
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 10
FWCI
1.99
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Explore Bristol Research (publishedVersion)
  • Kent Academic Repository (University of Kent) (acceptedVersion)
  • Kent Academic Repository (University of Kent) (submittedVersion)
  • Bristol Research (University of Bristol) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Medical Research Council
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder, inner speech, visual imagery, short-term memory, serial recall, phonological similarity, phonological coding, visual coding, children, cognitive development, learning disabilities
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Analysis of Variance, Autistic Disorder, Child, Child, Preschool, Cognition, Female, Humans, Male, Memory, Short-Term, Psycholinguistics, Verbal Behavior, Case-Control Studies

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