Beyond literal depiction: Children's flexible understanding of pictures.

Pictures can represent more than one entity, and they can also represent literal or nonliteral concepts associated with a referent. In two studies, we examined whether 4-year-olds, 6-year-olds, and adults can view pictures as both literal and nonliteral when they are presented with different contextual cues, which would indicate representational flexibility. In Study 1, children and adults were asked to name iconic pictures after hearing a story explaining how a fictional character had created or used a picture in, for instance, a literal context (e.g., a girl used a picture of a crown to represent what she wanted for Christmas) and a second story on how the same artist produced or used an identical picture in a nonliteral context (e.g., the same girl used the picture of a crown to represent what she wanted to be when she grew up). After each story, the picture was shown and participants were asked "What does this mean?" The 6-year-olds and adults, but not the 4-year-olds, showed representational flexibility in their interpretations of pictures across contexts. Study 2 provided evidence of flexible pictorial interpretations, even for the younger age group, when children were presented with a game in which they were asked to select a suitable picture to represent a nonliteral referent. Taken together, our results suggest that the conditions under which representational flexibility is elicited influence the developmental progression observed.

Can drawings facilitate symbolic understanding of figurative language in children?

Understanding figurative language develops during middle childhood. Drawing can facilitate recall and may aid other aspects of linguistic expression. We examined whether children provide more symbolic interpretations of figurative statements in drawings relative to verbal explanations, and whether drawing facilitates overall symbolic interpretation. Ninety-six children were split into three age groups (5-6, 7-8, and 9-10 years) in a between-subjects design. In the 'draw-first' condition, they were asked to depict then explain figurative statements (e.g., raining like cats and dogs), and in the 'explain-first' condition, children were asked to explain before drawing. We coded for symbolic or literal content. Overall, children provided more symbolic responses for verbal explanations compared to drawings, with a developmental increase. More symbolic responses occurred in the 'draw-first' condition compared to other task by condition combinations, suggesting drawing can facilitate subsequent symbolic verbal explanation. We discuss the links between drawings, figurative language, and development. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Understanding figurative language such as metaphor develops during childhood. Drawing has been shown to aid recall and may aid other aspects of linguistic expression. What the present study adds? Drawing figurative expressions facilitates subsequent symbolic verbal explanations. Children provide more symbolic interpretations in verbal explanations compared to drawings. There is a developmental progression in these abilities.

Symbolic Understanding and Word-Picture-Referent Mapping from iPads in Autism Spectrum Condition: The Roles of Iconicity and Engagement.

We investigated symbolic understanding, word-picture-referent mapping, and engagement in children with autism spectrum condition (ASC) and ability-matched typically developing children. Participants viewed coloured pictorial symbols of a novel object (given a novel name) on an iPad in one of three conditions: static 2D images and either automatically or manually rotating images (providing a three-dimensional context). We found no significant difference in word-picture-referent mapping between groups and conditions, however, children who manually rotated the picture had greater on-screen looking time compared to other conditions. Greater visual attention related to more successful word-picture-referent mapping only for the children with ASC. Interactive iPad tasks may increase visual attention in both typical and atypical populations and greater visual attention may benefit word-picture-referent mapping in ASC.

Narrative comprehension and engagement with e-books vs. paper-books in autism spectrum condition.

Background and aims: Children with autism spectrum condition often have specific difficulties with narrative comprehension, a skill which has a strong association with both concurrent and longitudinal reading comprehension. A better understanding of narrative comprehension skills in autism spectrum condition has the potential to provide insight into potential later reading comprehension difficulties and inform early targeted intervention. In the current study, the main objective was to investigate how differences in the medium of story presentation (paper-book vs. e-book) and differences in story narration (adult narration vs. in-app narration) would influence narrative comprehension in general, and between groups (autism spectrum condition and a receptive language-matched control group). We were also interested in how task engagement (visual attention and communication) differed between group and conditions and whether task engagement was related to narrative comprehension. Method: Forty-two children with autism spectrum condition and 42 typically developing children were read a story either via a paper-book or an e-book with interactive and multimedia features. The e-book was either narrated by the experimenter (adult narrated iPad condition) or narrated by an in-app voiceover (e-book narrated iPad condition). Children's behaviour during storybook reading was video recorded and coded for engagement (visual attention and communication). They then completed two measures of narrative comprehension: multiple-choice questions (measuring recall of literal information) and a picture ordering task (measuring global story structure). Results: Contrary to predictions, we did not find any significant group or condition differences on either measure of narrative comprehension, and both groups demonstrated a similar level of narrative comprehension across the three conditions. We found differences in engagement between conditions for both groups, with greater visual attention in the e-book conditions compared to the paper-book condition. However, visual attention only significantly correlated with narrative comprehension for the typically developing group. Conclusion: Overall, this study suggests that children with autism spectrum condition are just as able as language-matched peers to comprehend a narrative from storybooks. Presenting a story on an iPad e-book compared to a paper-book does not influence narrative comprehension, nor does adult narration of the story compared to in-app narration. However, on-task engagement is linked to narrative comprehension in typically developing children.Implications: Taken together, our findings suggest that e-books may be more successful than paper-based mediums at encouraging visual attention towards the story, but no better at supporting narrative comprehension and eliciting communication.

The influence of labelling on symbolic understanding and dual representation in autism spectrum condition.

Background and aims: Children with autism spectrum condition often have specific difficulties understanding that pictorial symbols refer to real-world objects in the environment. We investigated the influence of labelling on the symbolic understanding and dual representation of children with autism spectrum condition. Methods: Children with autism spectrum condition and typically developing children were shown four coloured photographs of objects that had different functions across four separate trials. The participants were given either a novel label alongside a description of the object's function or a description of the object's function without a label. Children were then given 30 seconds to interact with an array of stimuli (pictures and objects) in a mapping test and in a generalisation test for each trial. This exploration phase allowed for spontaneous word-picture-referent mapping through free-play, providing an implicit measure of symbolic understanding. Results: We found no significant difference in word-picture-referent mapping between groups and conditions. Both groups more often performed the described action on the target object in the exploration phase regardless of condition. Conclusions and implications: Our results suggest that a spontaneous measure of symbolic understanding (such as free-play) may reveal competencies in word-picture-referent mapping in autism spectrum condition.

Referent selection in children with Autism Spectrum Condition and intellectual disabilities: Do social cues affect word-to-object or word-to-location mappings?

BACKGROUND: There is conflicting evidence regarding whether children with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) and intellectual disabilities (ID) follow social pragmatic cues such as a speaker's eye gaze or pointing towards a novel object to assist mapping a new word onto a new object (e.g. fast mapping). AIMS: We test fast mapping from a speaker's gaze and pointing towards objects in children with ASC and ID with varying chronological and receptive language ages compared with receptive language matched groups of typically developing (TD) children. METHODS AND PROCEDURE: Across eight trials, a speaker gazed and/or pointed towards one out of two objects while saying a new word. Pointing was either 'referential' (with intention), or 'incidental' (without obvious intention). To investigate whether children formed more robust word-to-object links rather than associative word-to-location ones, we reversed the original location of the objects in half of the test trials. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Children with ASC were as successful as TD children using social cues to form word-to-object mappings. Surprisingly, children with ID did not fast map from referential pointing, or when objects changed location. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Children with ID may use different processes to facilitate word learning compared to TD children and even children with ASC.

Investigating the relationship between language and picture understanding in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Previous studies report that minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder show impaired picture comprehension when matched to typically developing controls on language comprehension. Here, we compare both picture comprehension and picture production abilities in linguistically delayed children with autism spectrum disorder and typically developing controls matched on language comprehension and language production. Participants were 20 children with autism spectrum disorder (M age: 11.2 years) and 20 typically developing children (M age: 4.4 years) matched on age equivalents for receptive language (autism spectrum disorder, M: 4.6 years; typically developing, M: 4.5 years) and expressive language (autism spectrum disorder, M: 4.4 years; typically developing, M: 4.5 years). Picture comprehension was assessed by asking children to identify the three-dimensional referents of line drawings. Picture production was assessed by asking children to create representational drawings of unfamiliar objects and having raters identify their referents. The results of both picture tasks revealed statistically equivalent performance for typically developing children and children with autism spectrum disorder, and identical patterns of performance across trial types. These findings suggest that early deficits in pictorial understanding displayed by minimally verbal individuals may diminish as their expressive language skills develop. Theoretically, our study indicates that development in linguistic and pictorial domains may be inter-related for children with autism spectrum disorder (as is the case for typical development).

iPads and the Use of "Apps" by Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Do They Promote Learning?

The advent of electronic tablets, such as Apple's iPad, has opened up the field of learning via technology, and the use of electronic applications ("apps") on these devices continues to dramatically rise. Children with communication and social impairment, specifically those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), often use educational and recreational apps within the context of their home and school settings. Here we examine in which contexts learning via this medium may be beneficial, and outline recommendations for the use of electronic tablets and the design features for apps to promote learning in this population that is characterized by a unique profile of needs and heterogeneous ability levels.

Brief Report: Imaginative Drawing in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Learning Disabilities.

Here we examine imaginative drawing abilities in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and learning disabilities (LD) under several conditions: spontaneous production, with use of a template, and combining two real entities to form an 'unreal' entity. Sixteen children in each group, matched on mental and chronological age, were asked to draw a number of 'impossible' pictures of humans and dogs. Children with ASD were impaired in spontaneous drawings and included fewer impossible features than children with LD, but there was no difference when a template was provided. An autism-specific deficit was revealed in the task involving combining entities. Results suggest that children with ASD do not have a general imaginative deficit; impairment is instead related to planning demands.

Young children show representational flexibility when interpreting drawings.

Drawings can be ambiguous and represent more than one entity. In three experiments, we examine whether young children show representational flexibility by allowing one picture to be called by a second name. We also evaluate the hypothesis that children who are representationally flexible see the artist's intention as binding, rather than changeable. In Experiment 1, an artist declared what she intended to draw (e.g. a balloon) but then produced an ambiguous drawing. Children were asked whether the drawings could be interpreted differently (e.g. 'could this be a lollipop?') in the presence of a perceptually similar or dissimilar distractor (e.g., lollipop or snake). Six-year-olds accepted two labels for drawings in both conditions, but four-year-olds only did so in the dissimilar condition. Experiment 2 probed each possible interpretation more deeply by asking property questions (e.g., 'does it float?, does it taste good?'). Preschoolers who understood that the ambiguous drawing could be given two interpretations nevertheless mostly endorsed only properties associated with the prior intent. Experiment 3 provided converging evidence that 4-year-olds were representationally flexible using a paradigm that did not rely upon modal questioning. Taken together, our results indicate that even 4-year-olds understand that pictures may denote more than one referent, they still think of the symbol as consistent with the artist's original intention.

Attentional Learning Helps Language Acquisition Take Shape for Atypically Developing Children, Not Just Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The shape bias-generalising labels to same shaped objects-has been linked to attentional learning or referential intent. We explore these origins in children with typical development (TD), autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other developmental disorders (DD). In two conditions, a novel object was presented and either named or described. Children selected another from a shape, colour or texture match. TD children choose the shape match in both conditions, children with DD and 'high-verbal mental age' (VMA) children with ASD (language age > 4.6) did so in the name condition and 'low-VMA' children with ASD never showed the heuristic. Thus, the shape bias arises from attentional learning in atypically developing children and is delayed in ASD.

Are Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Initially Attuned to Object Function Rather Than Shape for Word Learning?

We investigate the function bias--generalising words to objects with the same function--in typically developing (TD) children, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and children with other developmental disorders. Across four trials, a novel object was named and its function was described and demonstrated. Children then selected the other referent from a shape match (same shape, different function) and function match (same function, different shape) object. TD children and children with ASD were 'function biased', although further investigation established that having a higher VMA facilitated function bias understanding in TD children, but having a lower VMA facilitated function bias understanding in children with ASD. This suggests that children with ASD are initially attuned to object function, not shape.

Children's picture interpretation: Appearance or intention?

Pictures are defined by their creator's intentions and resemblance to their real world referents. Here we examine whether young children follow a realist route (e.g., focusing on how closely pictures resemble their referents) or intentional route (e.g., focusing on what a picture is intended to represent by its artist) when identifying a picture's referent. In 3 experiments, we contrasted an artist's intention with her picture's appearance to investigate children's use of appearance and intentional cues. In Experiment 1, children aged 3-4 and 5-6 years (N = 151) were presented with 4 trials of 3-object arrays (e.g., a pink duck, a blue duck, and a teddy). The experimenter photographed or drew 1 of the objects (e.g., blue duck), however, the subsequent picture depicted the referent in grayscale (black and white condition) or the color of its shape-matched object, for example, a pink duck (color change condition). Children were asked 3 questions regarding the identity of the pictures; responses were guided by intentional cues in the black and white condition, but appearance in the color change condition. Experiment 2 confirmed that appearance responses were not due to the artist's changing knowledge state. Experiment 3 replicated the results of Experiment 1 with adult participants. Together, these studies show that children and adults are neither strictly realist nor intentional route followers. They are realists until resemblance cues fail, at which point they defer to intentional cues.

Do iPads promote symbolic understanding and word learning in children with autism?

The use of the Apple iPad has skyrocketed in educational settings, along with largely unsubstantiated claims of its efficacy for learning and communication in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Here, we examine whether children with ASD are better able to learn new word-referent relations using an iPad or a traditional picture book. We also examine the hypothesis that presenting multiple, differently colored, exemplars of a target referent will promote adaptive label generalization compared to the use of a single exemplar. Sixteen minimally verbal children with ASD were taught a new word in four within-subjects conditions, which varied by media (iPad vs. book) and content (single vs. multiple exemplar presentation). Children were then tested on the ability to symbolically relate the word to a 3-D referent (real-life depicted object) and generalize it to a differently colored category member (another similarly shaped object). The extent of symbolic understanding did not differ between the two media, and levels of generalization did not differ across conditions. However, presentation of multiple exemplars increased the rate that children with ASD extended labels from pictures to depicted objects. Our findings are discussed in terms of the importance of content to picture-based learning and the potential benefits and challenges of using the Apple iPad as an educational resource for children with ASD.

Symbolic understanding of pictures in low-functioning children with autism: the effects of iconicity and naming.

This research investigated whether symbolic understanding of pictures in low-functioning children with autism is mediated by iconicity and language. In Experiment 1, participants were taught novel words paired with unfamiliar pictures that varied in iconicity (black-and-white line drawings, greyscale photographs, colour line drawings, colour photographs). Unlike mental-age matched typically developing peers, children with autism generally mapped words onto pictures rather than depicted referents, however, they generalised labels more frequently in colour picture conditions. In Experiment 2, children with autism categorised a line drawing with its referent, rather than another picture, regardless of whether it was named. Typically developing children only viewed pictures as symbols when they were labelled. Overall, symbolic understanding of pictures in children with autism is facilitated by iconicity (particularly colour), but not language.

Iconicity influences how effectively minimally verbal children with autism and ability-matched typically developing children use pictures as symbols in a search task.

Previous word learning studies suggest that children with autism spectrum disorder may have difficulty understanding pictorial symbols. Here we investigate the ability of children with autism spectrum disorder and language-matched typically developing children to contextualize symbolic information communicated by pictures in a search task that did not involve word learning. Out of the participant's view, a small toy was concealed underneath one of four unique occluders that were individuated by familiar nameable objects or unfamiliar unnamable objects. Children were shown a picture of the hiding location and then searched for the toy. Over three sessions, children completed trials with color photographs, black-and-white line drawings, and abstract color pictures. The results reveal zero group differences; neither children with autism spectrum disorder nor typically developing children were influenced by occluder familiarity, and both groups' errorless retrieval rates were above-chance with all three picture types. However, both groups made significantly more errorless retrievals in the most-iconic photograph trials, and performance was universally predicted by receptive language. Therefore, our findings indicate that children with autism spectrum disorder and young typically developing children can contextualize pictures and use them to adaptively guide their behavior in real time and space. However, this ability is significantly influenced by receptive language development and pictorial iconicity.

Brief report: generalisation of word-picture relations in children with autism and typically developing children.

We investigated whether low-functioning children with autism generalise labels from colour photographs based on sameness of shape, colour, or both. Children with autism and language-matched controls were taught novel words paired with photographs of unfamiliar objects, and then sorted pictures and objects into two buckets according to whether or not they were also referents of the newly-learned labels. Stimuli matched depicted referents on shape and/or colour. Children with autism extended labels to items that matched depicted objects on shape and colour, but also frequently generalised to items that matched on only shape or colour. Controls only generalised labels to items that matched the depicted referent's shape. Thus, low-functioning children with autism may not understand that shape constrains symbolic word-picture-object relations.

Intentions vs. resemblance: understanding pictures in typical development and autism.

Research has debated whether children reflect on artists' intentions when comprehending pictures, or instead derive meaning entirely from resemblance. We explore these hypotheses by comparing how typically developing toddlers and low-functioning children with autism (a population impaired in intentional reasoning) interpret abstract pictures. In Experiment 1, both groups mapped familiar object names onto abstract pictures, however, they related the same representations to different 3-D referents. Toddlers linked abstract pictures with intended referents they did not resemble, while children with autism mapped picture-referent relations based on resemblance. Experiment 2 showed that toddlers do not rely upon linguistic cues to determine intended referential relations. Experiment 3 confirmed that the responding of children with autism was not due to perseveration or associative word learning, and also provided independent evidence of their intention-reading difficulties. We argue that typically developing children derive meaning from the social-communicative intentions underlying pictures when resemblance is an inadequate cue to meaning. By contrast, children with autism do not reflect on artists' intentions and simply relate pictures to whatever they happen to resemble.

Educating the design stance: issues of coherence and transgression.

Bullot & Reber (B&R) put forth a design stance to fuse psychological and art historical accounts of visual thinking into a single theory. We argue that this aspect of their proposal needs further fine-tuning. Issues of transgression and coherence are necessary to provide stability to the design stance. We advocate looking to Art Education for such fundamentals of picture understanding.