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Gesture Imitation Performance and Visual Exploration in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

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Title: Gesture Imitation Performance and Visual Exploration in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Authors: Latrèche, Kenza (AUTHOR), Kojovic, Nada (AUTHOR), Pittet, Irène (AUTHOR), Natraj, Shreyasvi (AUTHOR), Franchini, Martina (AUTHOR), Smith, Isabel M. (AUTHOR), Schaer, Marie (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders. Feb2026, Vol. 56 Issue 2, p695-708. 14p.
Subjects: Asperger's syndrome in children, Autism in children, Research funding, Task performance, T-test (Statistics), Data analysis, Eye movement measurements, Emotions, Descriptive statistics, Attention, Longitudinal method, Imitative behavior, Body language, Statistics, Visual perception, Data analysis software, Video recording, Facial expression
Geographic Terms: Switzerland
Abstract: Most studies in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) support a decrement in imitation performance. Factors related to visual attention and motor execution have been proposed to explain this phenomenon in ASD. However, studies investigated imitation with various methods, leading to inconsistent findings. Here, we examine imitation performance related to visual attention and motor execution. We focused on the imitation of meaningful and meaningless gestures, consistently reported as more affected than imitation of actions with objects in ASD. The imitation eye-tracking task consisted of a video of an actor demonstrating gestures and prompting children to imitate them. The demonstrations comprised meaningful and meaningless hand gestures, and meaningless facial gestures. We measured the fixation duration to the actor' face during child-directed speech and gesture demonstrations. We video-recorded children to assess their performance. Our sample comprised 100 participants (3.55 ± 1.11 years old), including 84 children with ASD. The ASD and typically developing groups displayed the same visual attention toward gesture demonstrations, although children with ASD spent less time looking at the face during facial stimuli. Visual exploration of actors' gestures did not influence imitation performance. Imitation of meaningful gestures was associated with less severe autistic symptoms, whereas imitation of meaningless gestures was correlated with higher non-verbal cognitive and fine-motor skills. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the complexity of imitation. We delineated the distinct nature of imitation of meaningful and meaningless gestures in children with ASD. We discuss clinical implications in relation to assessment and intervention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Gesture Imitation Performance and Visual Exploration in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Latrèche%2C+Kenza%22">Latrèche, Kenza</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kojovic%2C+Nada%22">Kojovic, Nada</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pittet%2C+Irène%22">Pittet, Irène</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Natraj%2C+Shreyasvi%22">Natraj, Shreyasvi</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Franchini%2C+Martina%22">Franchini, Martina</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Smith%2C+Isabel+M%2E%22">Smith, Isabel M.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Schaer%2C+Marie%22">Schaer, Marie</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Autism+%26+Developmental+Disorders%22">Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 56 Issue 2, p695-708. 14p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Asperger's+syndrome+in+children%22">Asperger's syndrome in children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Autism+in+children%22">Autism in children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Task+performance%22">Task performance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22T-test+%28Statistics%29%22">T-test (Statistics)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+analysis%22">Data analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Eye+movement+measurements%22">Eye movement measurements</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Emotions%22">Emotions</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Descriptive+statistics%22">Descriptive statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Attention%22">Attention</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Longitudinal+method%22">Longitudinal method</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Imitative+behavior%22">Imitative behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Body+language%22">Body language</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Statistics%22">Statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Visual+perception%22">Visual perception</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+analysis+software%22">Data analysis software</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Video+recording%22">Video recording</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Facial+expression%22">Facial expression</searchLink>
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– Name: Abstract
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  Data: Most studies in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) support a decrement in imitation performance. Factors related to visual attention and motor execution have been proposed to explain this phenomenon in ASD. However, studies investigated imitation with various methods, leading to inconsistent findings. Here, we examine imitation performance related to visual attention and motor execution. We focused on the imitation of meaningful and meaningless gestures, consistently reported as more affected than imitation of actions with objects in ASD. The imitation eye-tracking task consisted of a video of an actor demonstrating gestures and prompting children to imitate them. The demonstrations comprised meaningful and meaningless hand gestures, and meaningless facial gestures. We measured the fixation duration to the actor' face during child-directed speech and gesture demonstrations. We video-recorded children to assess their performance. Our sample comprised 100 participants (3.55 ± 1.11 years old), including 84 children with ASD. The ASD and typically developing groups displayed the same visual attention toward gesture demonstrations, although children with ASD spent less time looking at the face during facial stimuli. Visual exploration of actors' gestures did not influence imitation performance. Imitation of meaningful gestures was associated with less severe autistic symptoms, whereas imitation of meaningless gestures was correlated with higher non-verbal cognitive and fine-motor skills. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the complexity of imitation. We delineated the distinct nature of imitation of meaningful and meaningless gestures in children with ASD. We discuss clinical implications in relation to assessment and intervention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=191290395
RecordInfo BibRecord:
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        Value: 10.1007/s10803-024-06595-w
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 14
        StartPage: 695
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Asperger's syndrome in children
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Autism in children
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research funding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Task performance
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: T-test (Statistics)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Data analysis
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      – SubjectFull: Eye movement measurements
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      – SubjectFull: Emotions
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      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
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      – SubjectFull: Attention
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      – SubjectFull: Longitudinal method
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Imitative behavior
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      – SubjectFull: Body language
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      – SubjectFull: Statistics
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      – SubjectFull: Visual perception
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      – SubjectFull: Data analysis software
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      – SubjectFull: Video recording
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      – SubjectFull: Facial expression
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      – SubjectFull: Switzerland
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      – TitleFull: Gesture Imitation Performance and Visual Exploration in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
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              Text: Feb2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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