This essay discusses multiple scientific articles to explore whether impaired language development in autism can be linked to deficits in statistical learning. It was part of the course "scientific skills" at University of Goettingen (B.Sc. Psychology). Please let me know if you have any questions....
Running head: STATISTICAL LEARNING AND LANGUAGE IN AUTISM
Defeating the odds –
Can language impairments in autism be linked to deficits in statistical learning?
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Wissenschaftliche Kompetenzen für die Psychologie
, STATISTICAL LEARNING AND LANGUAGE IN AUTISM 1
Language impairment is a prevalent characteristic of autism, resulting in what author
and autistic savant Daniel Tammet describes as a “disconnect between man and language”
(Tammet, 2017, p. 3). Apart from abnormalities in verbal and non-verbal communication,
autism spectrum disorder is characterized by difficulties in social interaction along with
repetitive and restrictive behavior (World Health Organization, 2004). Deficits and typical
features related to language and speech can include delayed and overall slower language
development, diminished use of language in social contexts, limited vocal output as well as
atypical vocal quality and accentuation (Tager-Flusberg, Paul, & Lord, 2005). The language
impairments observed in autism vary across ages, developmental levels and severity of the
disorder, contributing to its heterogeneity (Mody & Belliveau, 2013).
Of the many factors contributing to language acquisition, statistical learning has been
implicated as playing an important role (Romberg & Saffran, 2010; Saffran, 2003), possibly
making this mechanism relevant for language development in autism. Statistical learning,
which can be defined as “the discovery of patterns in the input” (Romberg & Saffran, 2010, p.
906), becomes significant for instance when determining word boundaries (Pelucchi, Hay, &
Saffran, 2009; Saffran, Aslin, & Newport, 1996) or figuring out the rules of grammar (Marcus,
Vijayan, Bandi, & Vishton, 1999). While there has been some research studying implicit
learning in autism (Barnes et al., 2008; Motofsky, Goldberg, Landa, & Denckla, 2000; Roser,
Aslin, McKenzie, Zahra, & Fiser, 2015) and the general relationship between statistical
learning and language acquisition (Marcus et al., 1999; Pelucchi et al., 2009; Saffran et al.,
1996), only a few studies have investigated statistical learning and language abilities in children
with autism in direct comparison with typically developing (TD) individuals. Some studies
have factored in neural activity correlated with implicit learning, suggesting atypical language-
association cortex asymmetry (De Fossé et al., 2004; Herbert et al., 2002). Currently there is
no conclusive consensus regarding the underlying mechanisms of language deficits in autism,
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