Development
Do children with autism use shape to learn new words?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
While typically developing toddlers consistently use an object's shape to learn its name, children with autism do not show this bias as a group, though those with larger vocabularies are more likely to do so.
Key findings
Typically developing children showed a clear preference for shape-matched objects starting at 20 months of age. In contrast, children with autism as a whole did not show a consistent shape bias, even up to 54 months of age. However, individual children with autism who possessed larger vocabularies at earlier visits were significantly more likely to demonstrate a shape bias at later visits.
Methodology
Researchers tracked 35 typically developing toddlers and 32 toddlers with autism spectrum disorder over multiple home visits spaced 4 months apart. They used an eye-tracking setup to measure how long children looked at shape-matched versus color-matched novel objects after hearing a new name. The study also tracked children's vocabulary sizes and motor skills using standardized parent reports and clinical assessments.
Limitations
This study cannot establish a causal link showing that acquiring a shape bias directly drives vocabulary growth, as the relationship is purely correlational. Additionally, the researchers only tested five novel objects, meaning they could not systematically isolate how varying degrees of visual complexity affect shape recognition. Lastly, the findings from this specific eye-gaze paradigm might not generalize to real-world social environments or physical object-sorting tasks.
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