To address the specific impairment of imitation in autism, the imitation abilities of 22 children with fragile X syndrome (FXS) with and without autism were compared. Based on previous research, we predicted that children with FXS and autism would have significantly more difficulty with non-meaningful imitation tasks. After controlling for full-scale IQ and age, the groups did not differ in their overall imitation accuracy scores, but analysis of error patterns revealed that children with FXS and autism made more groping errors and additional movements than the comparison group. These error patterns are consistent with the hypothesis that an action production system deficit plays an important role in the overall imitation deficit in autism, at least in children with FXS.
Bauman, M.L. & Kemper, T.L. ( 2005) ‘Neuroanatomic Observations of the Brain in Autism: A Review and Future Directions’, International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience23 (2-3): 183-7.
2.
Beery, K.E. ( 1997) The Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration. Administration and Scoring Manual. Parsipanny, NJ: Modern Curriculum.
3.
Belmonte, M.K. & Bourgeron, T. ( 2006) ‘Fragile X Syndrome and Autism at the Intersection of Genetic and Neural Networks’, Nature Neuroscience9 (10): 1221-5.
4.
Decety, J. & Chaminade, T. ( 2003) ‘Neural Correlates of Feeling Sympathy’ , Neuropsychologia41 (2): 127-38.
5.
DeMyer, M.K., Alpern, G.D., Barton, S., Demyer, W.E., Churchill, D.W., Hingten, J.N., Bryson, C.Q., Pontius, W. & Kimberlin, C. ( 1972) ‘Imitation in Autistic, Early Schizophrenic, and Nonpsychotic Subnormal Children’, Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia2 (3): 264-87.
6.
Dreher, J.C. & Grafman, J. ( 2002) ‘The Roles of the Cerebellum and Basal Ganglia in Timing and Error Prediction’, European Journal of Neuroscience16 (8): 1609-19.
7.
Gothelf, D., Furfaro, J.A., Hoeft, F., Eckert, M.A., Hall, S.S., O’Hara, R., Erba, H.W., Ringel, J., Hayashi, K.M., Patnaik, S., Golianu, B., Kraemer, H.C., Thompson, P.M., Piven, J. & Reiss, A.L. ( 2008) ‘Neuroanatomy of Fragile X Syndrome is Associated with Aberrant Behavior and the Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP)’ , Annals of Neurology63 (1): 40-51.
8.
Hagerman, R.J. ( 2006) ‘Lessons from Fragile X Regarding Neurobiology, Autism, and Neurodegeneration’, Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics27 (1): 63-74.
9.
Hardan, A.Y., Minshew, N.J., Harenski, K. & Keshevan, M.S. ( 2001) ‘Posterior Fossa Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Autism’ , Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry40 (6): 666-72.
Kaufmann, W.E., Cooper, K.L., Mostofsky, S.H., Capone, G.T., Kates, W.R., Newschaffer, C.J., Bukelis, I., Stump, M.H., Jann, A.E. & Lanham, D.C. (2003) ‘Specificity of Cerebellar Vermian Abnormalities in Autism: A Quantative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study’ , Journal of Child Neurology18 (7): 463-70.
12.
Kirk, R.E. ( 1996) ‘Practical Significance: A Concept Whose Time Has Come’, Educational and Psychological Measurement56 (5): 746-59.
13.
Loesch, D.Z., Bui, Q.M., Dissanayake, C., Clifford, S., Gould, E., Bulhak-Paterson, D., Tassone, F., Taylor, A.K., Hessl, D., Hagerman, R. & Huggins, R.M. ( 2007) ‘Molecular and Cognitive Predictors of the Continuum of Autistic Behaviours in Fragile X’, Neuroscience and Behavioral Reviews31 (3): 315-26.
14.
Lord, C., Rutter, M. & Le Couteur, A. ( 1994) ‘Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised: A Revised Version of a Diagnostic Interview for Carers of Individuals with Possible Pervasive Developmental Disorders’, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders24 (5): 659-85.
15.
Lord, C., Rutter, M., Dilavore, P.C. & Risi, S. ( 1999) Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.
16.
Meltzoff, A.N. ( 2002) ‘Elements of a Development Theory of Imitation’ , in A.N. Meltzoff & W. Prinz (eds) The Imitative Mind, pp.19-41. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .
17.
Meltzoff, A.N. & Moore, M.K. ( 1977) ‘Imitation of Facial and Manual Gestures by Human Neonates’, Science198 (4312): 75-8.
18.
Ming, X., Brimacombe, M. & Wagner, G.C. ( 2007) ‘Prevalence of Motor Impairment in Autism Spectrum Disorders’, Brain & Development29: 565-70.
19.
Nowicki, S.T., Tassone, F., Ono, M.Y., Ferranti, J., Croquette, M.F., Goodlin-Jones, B. & Hagerman, R.J. ( 2007) ‘The Prader-Willi Phenotype of Fragile X Syndrome’ , Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics28 (2): 133-8.
20.
Otsuka, H., Harada, M., Hisaoka, S. & Nishitani, H. ( 1999) ‘Brain Metabolites in the Hippocampal-Amygdala Region and the Cerebellum in Autism: An H-MR Spectroscopy Study’, Neuroradiology41 (7): 517-19.
21.
Rogers, S.J. ( 1999) ‘An Examination of the Imitation Deficit in Autism’ , in J. Nadel & G. Butterworth (eds) Imitation in Infancy , pp. 254-83. Cambridge: Cambridge University.
22.
Rogers, S.J. ( 2006) ‘Studies of Imitation in Early Infancy: Findings and Theories’, in S.J. Rogers & J.H.G. Williams (eds) Imitation and the Social Mind:Autism and Typical Development, pp. 3-26. New York : Guilford.
23.
Rogers, S.J. & Bennetto, L. ( 2000) ‘Intersubjectivity in Autism’, in A.M. Wetherby & B.M. Prizant (eds) Autism Spectrum Disorders, pp. 79-107. Baltimore, MD: Brookes.
24.
Rogers, S.J. & Pennington, B.F. ( 1991) ‘A Theoretical Approach to the Deficits in Infantile Autism’, Developmental Psychopathology3 (2): 137-62.
25.
Rogers, S.J., Bennetto, L., McEvoy, R. & Pennington, B.F. ( 1996) ‘Imitation and Pantomime in High-Functioning Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders’, Child Development67 (5): 2060-73.
26.
Rogers, S.J., Hepburn, S.L., Stackhouse, T. & Wehner, E. ( 2003) ‘Imitation Performance in Toddlers with Autism and Those with Other Developmental Disorders’, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry44 (5): 763-81.
27.
Rogers, S.J., Cook, I. & Greiss-Hess, L. ( 2005) Mature Imitation Tasks Coding Manual. Sacramento, CA: UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute .
Vanvuchelen, M., Roeyers, H. & De Weerdt, W. ( 2007a) ‘Nature of Motor Imitation Problems in School-Aged Boys with Autism: A Motor or a Cognitive Problem?’, Autism11 (3): 225-40.
30.
Vanvuchelen, M., Roeyers, H. & De Weerdt, W. ( 2007b) ‘Nature of Motor Imitation Problems in School-Aged Males with Autism: How Congruent Are the Error Types?’, Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology49 (1): 6-12.
31.
Williams, J.H.G., Whiten, A. & Singh, T. ( 2004) ‘A Systematic Review of Action Imitation in Autistic Spectrum Disorder’, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders34 (3): 285-99.
