Imitation abilities of children with autism and severe forms of intellectual disabilities

Abstract

Difficulties in imitation of other people movements appear to be particularly affected in children with autism spectrum disorders. The present study sought to examine the possibility of children with autism and severe forms of intellectual disability to imitate non-symbolic gestures. The sample consisted of 50 participants with moderate and 50 participants with severe intellectual disabilities, of both sexes, aged from 4 to 12. There were 25 participants with autism in each group. Imitation ability was determined using tests of the imitation of simple and complex gestures. It was revealed that students with autism achieved significantly lower scores than their counterparts with intellectual disability.

Poteškoće u imitaciji pokreta drugih ljudi su posebno izražene kod dece s poremećajima autističkog spektra. Cilj ovog istraživanja je da utvrditi mogućnost imitacije nesimboličkih gestova kod dece sa autizmom i teškim oblicima intelektualne ometenosti. Uzorak se sastoji iz 50 ispitanika sa umerenom i 50 ispitanika sa teškom intelektualnom ometenošću, oba pola, uzrasta između 4 i 12 godina. U svakom poduzorku nalazi se 25 ispitanika sa autizmom. Sposobnost imitacije je utvrđena primenom Testova za imitaciju jednostavnih i složenih pokreta. Utvrđeno je da deca sa autizmom imaju statistički značajno lošija postignuća od poredbene grupe ispitanika sa intelektualnom ometenošću.