Understanding the Symbolic Nature of Pictures in Children with Autism
Authors: Kristen McFee (a trainee with the CIHR-NAAR Inter-Institute ASD Strategic Training Program). Kristen's mentor is Dr. Jim Bebko from York University.
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Purpose of the Study:
Symbolic understanding, or the ability to recognize and use symbols in a variety of different situations, is a skill which emerges in the first few years of life and is the basis for a number of human characteristics such as language, reading and pretend play. Children today obtain knowledge through the use of a variety of symbols such as books, television and computers as well as other forms of symbolic media, including pictures and scale-models. Although previous research has show that typically developing children between the ages of 2.5 and 3.5 years of age are able to effectively use pictures and scale-models, there is relatively little research examining the ability of individuals with autism to use pictures as symbols.
What did participation involve?
Using a ‘hide and seek’ game, where children were asked to find a hidden toy in a dollhouse using a picture which depicted the hiding location, we were able to identify a) whether children with autism were able to understand that the picture represented an actual object and b) whether they were able to use this information to organize their searching behavior.
What our results showed:
After adjusting for children with autism’s verbal abilities, we found that understanding of symbols was comparable to typically developing children. In particular, children with autism over 36 months in verbal skills were successful in locating the hidden object using a picture as an aid, further demonstrating proficient symbolic understanding, but children with verbal skills less than 30 months could not. By enhancing our knowledge of children with autism’s ability to use symbols, we can further understand their overall social-communicative abilities and develop more effective alternative communication systems (i.e., PIC symbols) in therapeutic interventions.
Thank you for your participation in our research!
Kristen McFee
PhD Candidate
York University
James Bebko, PhD
Assistant Professor,
Department of Psychology
York University
Purpose of the Study:
Symbolic understanding, or the ability to recognize and use symbols in a variety of different situations, is a skill which emerges in the first few years of life and is the basis for a number of human characteristics such as language, reading and pretend play. Children today obtain knowledge through the use of a variety of symbols such as books, television and computers as well as other forms of symbolic media, including pictures and scale-models. Although previous research has show that typically developing children between the ages of 2.5 and 3.5 years of age are able to effectively use pictures and scale-models, there is relatively little research examining the ability of individuals with autism to use pictures as symbols.
What did participation involve?
Using a ‘hide and seek’ game, where children were asked to find a hidden toy in a dollhouse using a picture which depicted the hiding location, we were able to identify a) whether children with autism were able to understand that the picture represented an actual object and b) whether they were able to use this information to organize their searching behavior.
What our results showed:
After adjusting for children with autism’s verbal abilities, we found that understanding of symbols was comparable to typically developing children. In particular, children with autism over 36 months in verbal skills were successful in locating the hidden object using a picture as an aid, further demonstrating proficient symbolic understanding, but children with verbal skills less than 30 months could not. By enhancing our knowledge of children with autism’s ability to use symbols, we can further understand their overall social-communicative abilities and develop more effective alternative communication systems (i.e., PIC symbols) in therapeutic interventions.
Thank you for your participation in our research!
Kristen McFee
PhD Candidate
York University
James Bebko, PhD
Assistant Professor,
Department of Psychology
York University
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