TY - JOUR
T1 - Making Inferences
T2 - Comprehension of Physical Causality, Intentionality, and Emotions in Discourse by High-Functioning Older Children, Adolescents, and Adults with Autism
AU - Bodner, Kimberly E.
AU - Engelhardt, Christopher R.
AU - Minshew, Nancy J.
AU - Williams, Diane L.
N1 - Funding Information:
We acknowledge the support of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) [HD055748, an Autism Center of Excellence, to N.J.M.]; and, the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) [K23DC006691 to D.L.W.]. We are grateful to the participants and families who generously gave of their time and effort to this study. We acknowledge the contribution of Amanda Brening, Kelsey Woods, and Maureen McAniff in the development of the PIT. KEB would like to thank Denis McCarthy for his guidance and feedback on the development of the psychometric properties of the PIT. We thank Rob Mason for his contribution of stimuli that were important in the developmental process.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York.
PY - 2015/9/1
Y1 - 2015/9/1
N2 - Studies investigating inferential reasoning in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have focused on the ability to make socially-related inferences or inferences more generally. Important variables for intervention planning such as whether inferences depend on physical experiences or the nature of social information have received less consideration. A measure of bridging inferences of physical causation, mental states, and emotional states was administered to older children, adolescents, and adults with and without ASD. The ASD group had more difficulty making inferences, particularly related to emotional understanding. Results suggest that individuals with ASD may not have the stored experiential knowledge that specific inferences depend upon or have difficulties accessing relevant experiences due to linguistic limitations. Further research is needed to tease these elements apart.
AB - Studies investigating inferential reasoning in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have focused on the ability to make socially-related inferences or inferences more generally. Important variables for intervention planning such as whether inferences depend on physical experiences or the nature of social information have received less consideration. A measure of bridging inferences of physical causation, mental states, and emotional states was administered to older children, adolescents, and adults with and without ASD. The ASD group had more difficulty making inferences, particularly related to emotional understanding. Results suggest that individuals with ASD may not have the stored experiential knowledge that specific inferences depend upon or have difficulties accessing relevant experiences due to linguistic limitations. Further research is needed to tease these elements apart.
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U2 - 10.1007/s10803-015-2436-3
DO - 10.1007/s10803-015-2436-3
M3 - Article
C2 - 25821925
AN - SCOPUS:84941420669
SN - 0162-3257
VL - 45
SP - 2721
EP - 2733
JO - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
JF - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
IS - 9
ER -