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Cited by 17Autism Spectrum Disorder ResearchLanguage Development and DisordersChild and Animal Learning Development

Read my lips! Perception of speech in noise by preschool children with autism and the impact of watching the speaker’s face

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Newman, Rochelle S., Kirby, Laura A., Von Holzen, Katie, Redcay, Elizabeth·2021·Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders
DOI 10.1186/s11689-020-09348-9PMC PMC7786476
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Abstract

Background: Adults and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders show greater difficulties comprehending speech in the presence of noise. Moreover, while neurotypical adults use visual cues on the mouth to help them understand speech in background noise, differences in attention to human faces in autism may affect use of these visual cues. No work has yet examined these skills in toddlers with ASD, despite the fact that they are frequently faced with noisy, multitalker environments. Methods: Children aged 2-5 years, both with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD), saw pairs of images in a preferential looking study and were instructed to look at one of the two objects. Sentences were presented in the presence of quiet or another background talker (noise). On half of the trials, the face of the target person speaking was presented, while half had no face present. Growth-curve modeling was used to examine the time course of children’s looking to the appropriate vs. opposite image. Results: Noise impaired performance for both children with ASD and their age- and language-matched peers. When there was no face present on the screen, the effect of noise was generally similar across groups with and without ASD. But when the face was present, the noise had a more detrimental effect on children with ASD than their language-matched peers, suggesting neurotypical children were better able to use visual cues on the speaker’s face to aid performance. Moreover, those children with ASD who attended more to the speaker’s face showed better listening performance in the presence of noise. Conclusions: Young children both with and without ASD show poorer performance comprehending speech in the presence of another talker than in quiet. However, results suggest that neurotypical children may be better able to make use of face cues to partially counteract the effects of noise. Children with ASD varied in their use of face cues, but those children who spent more time attending to the face of the target speaker appeared less disadvantaged by the presence of background noise, indicating a potential path for future interventions.

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Newman, R. S., Kirby, L. A., Von Holzen, K., & Redcay, E.
Affiliations
University of Maryland, College Park (US)
Corresponding author
Newman, Rochelle S.
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2021-01-05
Volume
13
Issue
1
Pages
4-4
ISSN
  • 1866-1947 (ISSN-L)
  • 1866-1955
DOI
10.1186/s11689-020-09348-9
PMC
PMC7786476
OpenAlex
W3120376247
Cited by
17
References
6
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1
FWCI
1.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • University Libraries (University of Maryland) (submittedVersion)
  • Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (University of Maryland College Park)
Funders
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (W81XWH-12-1-0363)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder, speech perception in noise, preschool children, preferential looking
MeSH terms
Autism Spectrum Disorder, Auditory Perception, Autistic Disorder, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Lip, Male, Speech

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