Electronic Toys Decrease the Quantity and Lexical Diversity of Spoken Language Produced by Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Age-Matched Children With Typical Development
Many young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have language delays. Play-based interactions present a rich, naturalistic context for supporting language and communication development, but electronic toys may compromise the quality of play interactions. This study examined how electronic to...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.929589/full |
| _version_ | 1811227317471543296 |
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| author | Courtney E. Venker Jennifer R. Johnson |
| author_facet | Courtney E. Venker Jennifer R. Johnson |
| author_sort | Courtney E. Venker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Many young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have language delays. Play-based interactions present a rich, naturalistic context for supporting language and communication development, but electronic toys may compromise the quality of play interactions. This study examined how electronic toys impact the quantity and lexical diversity of spoken language produced by children with ASD and age-matched children with typical development (TD), compared to traditional toys without electronic features. Twenty-eight parent-child dyads (14 per group) played with both electronic and traditional toy sets in a counter-balanced order. We transcribed child speech during both play sessions and derived the number of utterances and number of different word (NDW) roots per minute that children produced. Children with ASD and children with TD talked significantly less and produced significantly fewer unique words during electronic toy play than traditional toy play. In this way, children appear to take a “backseat” to electronic toys, decreasing their communicative contributions to play-based social interactions with their parents. These findings highlight the importance of understanding how toy type can affect parent-child play interactions and the subsequent learning opportunities that may be created. Play-based interventions for children with ASD may be most effective when they incorporate traditional toys, rather than electronic toys. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T09:40:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f94118ecc6104b6c95006f4d6ac248e9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T09:40:39Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-f94118ecc6104b6c95006f4d6ac248e92022-12-22T03:38:06ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782022-07-011310.3389/fpsyg.2022.929589929589Electronic Toys Decrease the Quantity and Lexical Diversity of Spoken Language Produced by Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Age-Matched Children With Typical DevelopmentCourtney E. VenkerJennifer R. JohnsonMany young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have language delays. Play-based interactions present a rich, naturalistic context for supporting language and communication development, but electronic toys may compromise the quality of play interactions. This study examined how electronic toys impact the quantity and lexical diversity of spoken language produced by children with ASD and age-matched children with typical development (TD), compared to traditional toys without electronic features. Twenty-eight parent-child dyads (14 per group) played with both electronic and traditional toy sets in a counter-balanced order. We transcribed child speech during both play sessions and derived the number of utterances and number of different word (NDW) roots per minute that children produced. Children with ASD and children with TD talked significantly less and produced significantly fewer unique words during electronic toy play than traditional toy play. In this way, children appear to take a “backseat” to electronic toys, decreasing their communicative contributions to play-based social interactions with their parents. These findings highlight the importance of understanding how toy type can affect parent-child play interactions and the subsequent learning opportunities that may be created. Play-based interventions for children with ASD may be most effective when they incorporate traditional toys, rather than electronic toys.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.929589/fullautism (ASD)playtoys and games industrylanguageintervention |
| spellingShingle | Courtney E. Venker Jennifer R. Johnson Electronic Toys Decrease the Quantity and Lexical Diversity of Spoken Language Produced by Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Age-Matched Children With Typical Development Frontiers in Psychology autism (ASD) play toys and games industry language intervention |
| title | Electronic Toys Decrease the Quantity and Lexical Diversity of Spoken Language Produced by Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Age-Matched Children With Typical Development |
| title_full | Electronic Toys Decrease the Quantity and Lexical Diversity of Spoken Language Produced by Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Age-Matched Children With Typical Development |
| title_fullStr | Electronic Toys Decrease the Quantity and Lexical Diversity of Spoken Language Produced by Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Age-Matched Children With Typical Development |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electronic Toys Decrease the Quantity and Lexical Diversity of Spoken Language Produced by Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Age-Matched Children With Typical Development |
| title_short | Electronic Toys Decrease the Quantity and Lexical Diversity of Spoken Language Produced by Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Age-Matched Children With Typical Development |
| title_sort | electronic toys decrease the quantity and lexical diversity of spoken language produced by children with autism spectrum disorder and age matched children with typical development |
| topic | autism (ASD) play toys and games industry language intervention |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.929589/full |
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