The role of context in verbal humor processing in autism.

Difficulties in processing humor have been associated with individuals with autism. The current study investigated whether humor comprehension and appreciation could be augmented in children with autism by providing contextual support suggesting that humor was to be expected. A verbally presented riddle task was used in which participants were assessed for their subjective ratings and comprehension of the materials. They were also filmed to record any smiling or laughing. Both riddles and control stimuli were presented with supporting verbal context and also without it. The results showed that (a) the greater subjective appreciation of riddles than of control stimuli was dependent on the provision of context for the participants with autism and that (b) context statistically equated these ratings of riddles between participants with autism and matched typically developing controls. However, context had no effect on comprehension or affective response. The results of the current study demonstrate that children with autism are, even in the most conservative interpretation, able to use verbal context to recognize verbal humor. This lays the foundation of possible interventions based on training sensitivity to context.

The foundations of mathematical development in Williams syndrome and Down syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Studies in Down syndrome (DS) and Williams syndrome (WS) have suggested that mathematical abilities are impaired. However, it is unclear which domain-general or domain-specific abilities impact on mathematical development in these developmental disorders. METHOD: The current study examined the foundations of mathematical development across participants with WS (n = 24) and DS (n = 26) compared to typically developing (TD) children (n = 26) in relation to domain-general (i.e., general intelligence and visuospatial abilities) and domain-specific abilities (non-symbolic and symbolic number abilities). RESULTS: Developmental trajectories showed that mathematical abilities were delayed in line with overall mental age in DS and WS. Whilst visuospatial abilities predicted performance for DS and TD participants, this was not the case for the WS group, instead Approximate Number Sense abilities predicted mathematical development. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that those with DS and WS may benefit from different mathematical intervention programmes.

The Home Learning Environment of Primary School Children with Down Syndrome and those with Williams Syndrome.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Research on typically developing (TD) populations has shown that the home learning environment plays a significant role in cognitive development and learning, but very little is known about the home learning environment of children with Down syndrome (DS) or children with Williams syndrome (WS). The present study examined and compared, for the first time, the home learning environment of children diagnosed with DS and children diagnosed with WS to investigate whether different cognitive profiles were reflected in their home literacy and number experiences. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a web-based survey from 58 parents and one foster parent of primary school children with DS (n = 35) and WS (n = 24) mostly based in the UK. The survey targeted the children's general level of functioning and academic skills; type, format, and frequency of home learning activities; parents' expectations for their child's academic outcomes; parents' attitudes towards literacy and mathematics; children's interest towards mathematics; and the use of technology to support home learning activities. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Our results showed that, overall, the home learning environment of children with DS and children with WS were similar but changed based on the child's cognitive profile. Comparative analyses showed that parents of children with DS engaged more often in activities supporting counting than parents of children with WS, despite both groups reporting difficulties with this skill. Moreover, our results indicated that literacy-based activities occurred more often than mathematics-based activities and that the home numeracy environment was characterized by activities supporting different mathematical skills such as counting, arithmetic, and numeracy. Parents in both groups engaged with their child in both formal and informal literacy and mathematics-based activities, but informal activities occurred more often when supporting counting and number recognition skills. Conclusions and implications: The current study provides evidence that the home learning environment of children with DS and children with WS include different literacy- and mathematics-based activities and that the home learning environment changes on the basis of the child's strengths and weaknesses. The findings are discussed in relation to previous studies and the impact on parental interventions.

Perceptual subitizing and conceptual subitizing in Williams syndrome and Down syndrome: Insights from eye movements.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Mathematical difficulties in individuals with Williams Syndrome (WS) and in individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) are well-established. Perceptual subitizing and conceptual subitizing are domain-specific precursors of mathematical achievement in typically developing (TD) population. This study employed, for the first time, eye-tracking methodology to investigate subitizing abilities in WS and DS. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Twenty-five participants with WS and 24 participants with DS were compared to a younger group of TD children (n = 25) matched for mental age. Participants were asked to enumerate one to six dots arranged either in a dice or a random pattern. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Accuracy rates and analyses of reaction time showed no significant differences between the clinical groups (WS and DS) and the control group, suggesting that all participants used the same processes to perform the enumeration task in the different experimental conditions. Analyses of the eye movements showed that both individuals with WS and individuals with DS were using inefficient scanning strategies when counting. Moreover, analyses of the eye movements showed significantly shorter fixation duration in participants with DS compared to the control group in all the experimental conditions. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The current study provides evidence that individuals with WS and individuals with DS perform both perceptual subitizing and conceptual subitizing. Moreover, our results suggest a fixation instability in DS group that does not affect their performance when subitizing but might explain their low accuracy rates when counting. Findings are discussed in relation to previous studies and the impact for intervention programmes to improve counting and symbolic mathematical abilities in these populations.

Eye Movement Patterns and Approximate Number Sense Task Performance in Williams Syndrome and Down Syndrome: A Developmental Perspective.

It has been reported that approximate number sense (ANS) task performance is impaired in individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) and Down syndrome (DS). Research with infants has suggested this impairment is caused by sticky fixation in WS and sustained attention deficits for those with DS. This study examined looking patterns of older children and adults with WS (n = 24) and DS (n = 23) during an ANS task compared to typically developing controls matched for chronological age and those matched for mental age. Results showed that, although there were no group differences, looking patterns changed with chronological age for both the WS and DS groups. Looking behaviour related to ANS performance only in the WS group. Implications for interventions are discussed.