New Link Discovered Between Sensory Aspects of Speech and Language Issues in Autism

The videos in question showed a woman speaking to the children. Both videos had the same audio but the visuals were slightly different in that sometimes one video was slightly desynchronized from the audio, producing a sound delay. The other video was always perfectly synchronized between audio and video.

Four pairs were used in all. One pair had two identically synchronized videos. Another pair had one perfect video and one desynchronized by 0.3 seconds. The asynchronous videos in the other pairs were desynchronized by 0.6 seconds or a full 1 second.

After the children’s eye movements were recorded, the researchers administered a language learning test. They used the Preschool Language Scales, which is a play-based test that assesses multiple language skills of a child. You can measure growth with the Preschool Language Scales as well as the average language age equivalent.

The intent was to see if any link between a child’s language skills and the child’s ability to pay attention to sensory cues could be found.