Passive perception of speech in children with autism: Interrelating neuroimaging and interpretative paradigms

The aim of this project was to understand how minimally verbal Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) children perceive speech sounds and how this relates to their perception and communication abilities

Understanding how children with Autism perceive speech sounds

The project combined neuroimaging with non-neuroimaging methods to understand how minimally verbal Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) children perceive speech sounds (neuroimaging), and how this relates to their perception and communication abilities (non-neuroimaging). Both qualitative (questionnaires, interviews) and quantitative data (brain data) were gathered from children with and without Autism.

Designing child-friendly tools

In this project, the researchers designed a child-friendly MRI paradigm to passively test children ages 7 – 13 years. Neuroimaging and non-neuroimaging data were collected through children's MRI scans and interviews of parents. To improve research methods, the team worked closely with Clinical Research and Imaging Centre (CRIC) Bristol to use a quieter scanning sequence (instead of the usual loud scanning sequence) and with Autism therapists, teachers and parents, to make the neuroimaging environment less daunting to special needs children in this age group.

Specifically, they devised a protocol that includes training tunnels and personalised visual guides for parents with children with severe autism to help them to understand what was going to happen before, during and after the scans. This is important as many children with Autism do not necessarily cope well or express severe anxiety with new environments or change.

Impact

The potential impact of this work is more effective, inclusive and sensitive testing of those with Autism and associated complex needs.

Acknowledgements

The project established a new trans disciplinary collaboration between Dr Shu Hui Yau (Autism and Psychology), Professor Paul Howard-Jones (Education and Neuroscience) and Dr Jade Thai (Clinical and paediatric applications of fMRI).

People involved in this project