Autism Spectrum Disorder
Conditions
Brief summary
The goal of this research is to explore abilities to learn word meanings from overheard conversations in children with ASD (and, as a control, typically developing children). Specific Aim 1 (Experiment 1): Subaim 1a: Identify child characteristics associated with learning from overhearing. In a prior study, the investigators found that 13 children with ASD were able to learn the meanings of novel words that they heard used in a conversation involving two adults. In the current study, the investigators aim to study a larger sample to identify what child characteristics are associated with good learning in an overhearing situation as compared to a situation in which the child is directly taught the new word. Subaim 1b: Assess retention and generalization of words learned from overhearing. The investigators will re-test children on their knowledge of the word meanings after a 10-minute delay to see if they both retain the word meanings and can generalize the new words to new situations.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALOverheard Speech
New words are introduced with the child as an observer rather directly taught.
BEHAVIORALAddressed Speech
New words are introduced directly to the child by an experimenter.
Sponsors
Emerson College
New York University
Study design
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Months to 71 Months
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* children with or without a diagnosis of ASD between 18 to 71 months of age
Exclusion criteria
* native language is not English * born premature (\< 36 weeks) * has uncorrected hearing or vision impairments * has developmental disorders or medical conditions other than ASD that affect language or cognition (excepting psychiatric conditions often comorbid with ASD such as ADHD) * has a history of photosensitive epileptic seizures
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Children Who Select the Target Object as Measured by Gaze Preference. | immediately after viewing 3-minute interaction | Children are prompted to identify the object that is associated with the target word. |
Countries
United States
Participant flow
Participants by arm
| Arm | Count |
|---|---|
| ASD - Addressed First, Then Overheard Children with ASD are exposed to new words.
Addressed Speech: New words are introduced directly to the child by an experimenter.
Overheard Speech: New words are introduced while children observe. | 87 |
| ASD - Overheard First, Then Addressed Children with ASD are exposed to new words.
Overheard Speech: New words are introduced while children observe.
Addressed Speech: New words are introduced directly to the child by an experimenter. | 89 |
| TD - Addressed First, Then Overheard Children with TD are exposed to new words.
Addressed Speech: New words are introduced directly to the child by an experimenter.
Overheard Speech: New words are introduced while children observe. | 85 |
| TD - Overheard First, Then Addressed Children with TD are exposed to new words.
Overheard Speech: New words are introduced while children observe.
Addressed Speech: New words are introduced directly to the child by an experimenter. | 81 |
| Total | 342 |
Withdrawals & dropouts
| Period | Reason | FG000 | FG001 | FG002 | FG003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Behavioral Task (3 Minutes) | Withdrawal by Subject | 9 | 11 | 2 | 2 |
| Second Behavioral Task (3 Minutes) | Withdrawal by Subject | 9 | 11 | 2 | 2 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | ASD - Addressed First, Then Overheard | ASD - Overheard First, Then Addressed | TD - Addressed First, Then Overheard | TD - Overheard First, Then Addressed | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, Continuous | 51.8 months STANDARD_DEVIATION 10.6 | 52.1 months STANDARD_DEVIATION 10.2 | 41.5 months STANDARD_DEVIATION 14.2 | 31.0 months STANDARD_DEVIATION 8.2 | 41.7 months STANDARD_DEVIATION 14.3 |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized American Indian / Alaska Native | 0 participants | 0 participants | 1 participants | 0 participants | 1 participants |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized Asian | 4 participants | 5 participants | 4 participants | 3 participants | 16 participants |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized Black | 10 participants | 5 participants | 6 participants | 4 participants | 25 participants |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized Hispanic/Latine | 7 participants | 3 participants | 2 participants | 2 participants | 14 participants |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized More than one | 16 participants | 5 participants | 17 participants | 14 participants | 52 participants |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0 participants | 0 participants | 1 participants | 0 participants | 1 participants |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized Unknown | 8 participants | 14 participants | 2 participants | 2 participants | 26 participants |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized White | 42 participants | 57 participants | 52 participants | 56 participants | 207 participants |
| Region of Enrollment United States | 87 participants | 89 participants | 85 participants | 81 participants | 342 participants |
| Sex/Gender, Customized Number of Enrolled Females | 21 participants | 22 participants | 38 participants | 25 participants | 106 participants |
| Sex/Gender, Customized Number of Enrolled Males | 66 participants | 66 participants | 47 participants | 56 participants | 235 participants |
| Sex/Gender, Customized Number Prefer not to Answer | 0 participants | 1 participants | 0 participants | 0 participants | 1 participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk | EG002 affected / at risk | EG003 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 176 | 0 / 176 | 0 / 166 | 0 / 166 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 176 | 0 / 176 | 0 / 166 | 0 / 166 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 176 | 0 / 176 | 0 / 166 | 0 / 166 |
Outcome results
Primary
Number of Children Who Select the Target Object as Measured by Gaze Preference.
Children are prompted to identify the object that is associated with the target word.
Time frame: immediately after viewing 3-minute interaction
Population: Order of conditions, which was counterbalanced in the experimental design, is collapsed for the purposes of analysis. Not all enrolled participants were analyzed because of exclusions due to, e.g., experimenter error or children paying insufficient attention.
| Arm | Measure | Value (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS) |
|---|---|---|
| ASD - Addressed | Number of Children Who Select the Target Object as Measured by Gaze Preference. | 47 Participants |
| ASD - Overheard | Number of Children Who Select the Target Object as Measured by Gaze Preference. | 44 Participants |
| TD - Addressed | Number of Children Who Select the Target Object as Measured by Gaze Preference. | 71 Participants |
| TD - Overheard | Number of Children Who Select the Target Object as Measured by Gaze Preference. | 56 Participants |
p-value: <0.01binomial test
p-value: <0.01Binomial test
p-value: <0.01Binomial test
p-value: <0.01Binomial test
Primary
Number of Children Who Select the Target Object as Measured by Gaze Preference.
Children are prompted to identify the object that is associated with the target word.
Time frame: 5 minutes after viewing interaction
Population: Order of conditions, which was counterbalanced in the experimental design, is collapsed for the purposes of analysis. Not all enrolled participants were analyzed because of exclusions due to, e.g., experimenter error or children paying insufficient attention.
| Arm | Measure | Value (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS) |
|---|---|---|
| ASD - Addressed | Number of Children Who Select the Target Object as Measured by Gaze Preference. | 44 Participants |
| ASD - Overheard | Number of Children Who Select the Target Object as Measured by Gaze Preference. | 31 Participants |
| TD - Addressed | Number of Children Who Select the Target Object as Measured by Gaze Preference. | 54 Participants |
| TD - Overheard | Number of Children Who Select the Target Object as Measured by Gaze Preference. | 58 Participants |
p-value: <0.01Binomial test
p-value: 0.12Binomial test
p-value: <0.01Binomial test
p-value: <0.01Binomial test