Multisensorial Information's Treatment in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Introduction:

Autism spectrum disorder is characterized by deficits in three functional domains: language and communication, social reciprocity, and the presence of restricted interests/repetitive behaviors. There's also deficits in social cognition. When having a face-to-face conversation, a listener not only hears what a speaker is saying, but also sees the articulatory gestures that accompany those sounds. Speech signals needs then a multisensory processing. Impairments in multisensory perceptual binding may be particularly relevant in ASD, given that hallmark features of the disorder include difficulties in speech, communication, and social interactions.

Objectives:

The investigator suggest that atypical multisensory processing in ASD may have an impact on speech perception and social processing.

Aims:

Methods:

This pilot study measures free recall scores in 3 lists of words presentation after 30 minutes. In the first condition (CI) words are only listening. In the second condition (CII) words are associated with a picture of a mans face. In the third condition (CIII) words are associated with a video of a man speaking. Three lists are homogeneous form words characteristics (lexical frequency, emotional valence norm, imageability). Participants were 7- to 13-year-olds typically developing children (TD) (N = 19) and ASD children (N = 19).

The investigator would create some new tools for exploring the treatment of a social information. These tools should be the closest of a ecological social interaction.