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Cited by 20Autism Spectrum Disorder ResearchLanguage Development and DisordersGenetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Consonant differentiation mediates the discrepancy between non‐verbal and verbal abilities in children with ASD

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Key, A. P., Yoder, P. J., Stone, W. L.·2016·Journal of Intellectual Disability Research
DOI 10.1111/jir.12286PMC PMC6927012
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Abstract

Background: Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate verbal communication disorders reflected in lower verbal than non‐verbal abilities. The present study examined the extent to which this discrepancy is associated with atypical speech sound differentiation. Methods: Differences in the amplitude of auditory event‐related potentials elicited by contrasting consonant–vowel syllables during a passive listening paradigm were used to assess speech sound differentiation in 24 children with ASD and 18 chronological age‐matched children with typical development (TD), M age 6.90 years (SD = 1.39). Results: Results revealed that compared with TD peers, children with ASD showed reduced consonant differentiation in the 84‐ to 308‐ms period. Brain responses indexing consonant differentiation were negatively related to the degree of discrepancy in non‐verbal and verbal abilities and mediated the relationship between diagnostic group membership and the greater discrepancy. Conclusions: We discuss the theoretical and clinical implications of the brain's response to speech sound contrasts possibly explaining the greater non‐verbal versus language ability in children with ASD compared with that in typically developing children.

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  • Low-functioning children with ASD present atypical consonant differentiation in the 84- to 308-ms period, related to individual differences in non-verbal versus verbal abilities.

    “Low-functioning children with ASD seem to present atypical response to non-vocal sounds (Bidet-caulet et al. 2017), with atypical consonant differentiation in the 84- to 308-ms period, related to individual differences in non-verbal versus verbal abilities (Key et al. 2016).”

    From Autism Spectrum Disorder and auditory sensory alterations: a systematic review on the integrity of cognitive and neuronal functions related to auditory processing (2023) · cites this paper as Key et al. 2016

    The Discussion reports reduced consonant differentiation in children with ASD during 84–308 ms and relates it to individual differences in nonverbal versus verbal abilities. But the study did not restrict its ASD sample to low-functioning children: the Participants section describes a heterogeneous group, and the Discussion says its average nonverbal score was close to the mean. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Key, A. P., Yoder, P. J., & Stone, W. L.
Affiliations
  • Vanderbilt University (US)
  • University of Washington (US)
Corresponding author
Key, A. P.
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Intellectual Disability Research
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2016-04-27
Volume
60
Issue
5
Pages
478-490
ISSN
  • 0964-2633 (ISSN-L)
  • 1365-2788
DOI
10.1111/jir.12286
PMC
PMC6927012
OpenAlex
W2345230135
Cited by
20
References
6
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2
FWCI
0.64
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • Journal of Intellectual Disability Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
NICHD (P30 HD15052)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder, speech sound discrimination, auditory event-related potentials, children, speech perception, mediation
MeSH terms
Autism Spectrum Disorder, Child, Child, Preschool, Electroencephalography, Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Female, Humans, Language Disorders, Male, Speech Perception

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