research magnet Research Magnet news Medical News

View research about

Essential mixed cryoglobulinemia Dentist Paediatric Cardiology Autoimmune dysautonomia Pain Medicine Fitness Inclusion body myositis (IBM) Juvenile myositis (JM) Pathology Sarcoma Colorectal Cancer Alopecia areata Pemphigus Vascular Surgery Cleft Lip Gall Bladder Cancer Dementia Dermatomyositis Progesterone dermatitis Transverse myelitis Sports Medicine Medical Charity ADHD Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics Cosmetic Surgery Interstitial cystitis (IC) Brain Tumor Primary Biliary Cholangitis Endocrinology Subacute bacterial endocarditis (SBE) Leukodystrophy Procedural Dermatology Molecular Genetic Pathology Autoimmune retinopathy Heart Failure Coronary Artery Disease Narcolepsy Peripheral neuropathy Malignant Hypertension Implantology Angina Paediatric Dentistry Transplant Heamatology Pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) Castleman disease (CD) Nephrology Autoimmune encephalomyelitis Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia Orthopaedic Surgery Bile Duct Cancer Undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD) Dressler’s syndrome Dermatology Hyperlipidaemia Cold agglutinin disease Musculoskeletal Oncology Cardiothoracic Surgery Doctor Optic neuritis Epilepsy Parkinson’s Disease Surgical Oncology Ocular cicatricial pemphigoid Overactive Bladder Devic’s disease (neuromyelitis optica) Anti-GBM/Anti-TBM nephritis Autoimmune myocarditis Polymyalgia rheumatica Lower GI Guillain Barre Syndrome Temporal arteritis/Giant cell arteritis Low Back Pain Lung Cancer Hand Surgery Paediatric Surgery Hypertriglyceridemia Perivenous encephalomyelitis Neuroendocrine Tumors Antiphospholipid syndrome Spinal Cord Injury Upper GI Biochemical Genetics Microbiology Reflex sympathetic dystrophy COVID-19 Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP) Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) Polyglandular syndromes type I, II, III Paediatric ICU Maternal & Fetal Medicine Cancer Hypogammalglobulinemia Endovascular surgery Discoid lupus Hip & Knee Osteoarthritis Asthma Rheumatic fever Parry Romberg syndrome Pediatrics Obesity & Bariatrics Pancreatic Cancer Prediabetes Syncope & Collapse Microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) Hospice And Palliative Medicine Urology Behcet’s disease General Medicine / Internal Medicine Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis Spina Bifida Thoracic Surgery Neonatal & Perinatal Medicine Bladder Cancer Hepatology Ophthalmology Podiatrist Traumatic Brain Injury Coronavirus Transplant Hepatology Clinical Pharmacology Autoimmune orchitis Specialist In Training Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) Occupational & Environmental Medicine Liver Cancer Vaginal Cancer Clinic Ankylosing spondylitis Neurosurgery Schmidt syndrome General Surgery Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) (Acne Inversa) Evans syndrome Obstetrics And Gynecology Chiropractor Dermatological Immunology Pulmonology Stem Cell Research Pyoderma gangrenosum Psychiatry Immunology & Allergy Amyloidosis Critical Care Ulcerative colitis (UC) Retroperitoneal fibrosis Autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED) Peripheral Vascular Disease Depression Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine Mona Vale ED Acute Myeloid Leukaemia Thyroid eye disease (TED) Herpes gestationis or pemphigoid gestationis (PG) Psoriasis Lupus Macular Degeneration Pernicious anemia (PA) Head & Neck Surgery Geriatric Psychiatry Cardiology Pharmacy Reactive Arthritis Melanoma Psychosomatic Medicine Linear IgA disease (LAD) Chronic Kidney Disease Palliative Medicine Bullous pemphigoid Clinical Cytogenetics Mitochondrial Myopathies Chronic Ischaemic Heart Disease Audiologist Congenital heart block Tropical Medicine Adolescent Medicine Otology Neurotology Dermatitis herpetiformis Juvenile diabetes (Type 1 diabetes) Muscular Dystrophy Clinical Paediatric Genetics Moya Moya Disease Prostate Cancer Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody Disorder Churg-Strauss Syndrome Restless legs syndrome (RLS) ENT Paediatric Physician Pregnancy Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility Vulval Cancer Giant cell myocarditis Alzheimers Autoimmune oophoritis Sympathetic ophthalmia (SO) Benign Hypertension Aerospace Medicine Speech Pathologist Medical Administration Palindromic rheumatism (PR) Atrial Fibrillation Transplant Nuclear Medicine Women's Health Breast Fibromyalgia Meningitis CREST syndrome Takayasu’s arteritis Osteopathy Relapsing polychondritis Kawasaki disease Ligneous conjunctivitis Huntingtons Disease Goodpasture’s syndrome COPD Bowel Cancer Skin Cancer Mooren’s ulcer Pars planitis (peripheral uveitis) Inflammatory Arthritis Primary sclerosing cholangitis Haematology Rural & Remote Agammaglobulinemia Organ Donation Raynaud’s phenomenon Addiction Psychiatry Histopathology Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease Hashimoto’s thyroiditis Radiation Oncology Paediatric Respiratory Baló disease Craniofacial Surgery Anal Cancer Medical Organisation Chiropractice Infectious Disease Clinical Researcher Laboratory Immunology Sexual Health Medicine Addison’s disease Achalasia Vitiligo Scleroderma Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) Parsonage-Turner syndrome Rare Disease Craniofacial Microsomia Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) Lambert-Eaton syndrome Rare Diseases Coeliac disease Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Sleep Medicine Lichen planus Mircobiology Diabetes & Metabolism Burns Cystic Fibrosis Optometry Spinal Surgery Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Complementary Medicine Delirium Physiotherapy Emergency Medicine Brain Injury Medicine Hospital Geriatric Medicine Polymyositis Insulin Resistance Fibrosing alveolitis Anesthesiology Neuro Ophthalmology Axonal & neuronal neuropathy (AMAN) MedicalDirector software Testicular Cancer Schizophrenia Mucha-Habermann disease Rheumatology Womb Cancer Clinical Genetics Adult Reconstructive Orthopaedics Gynecologic Oncology Neonatal Lupus Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia Gynaecology Pediatric Allergy & Immunology Paediatric Emergency Medicine Uveitis & Ocular Immunology Hemolytic anemia Internal Medicine Oesophaegal Cancer Forensic Psychiatry Physiotherapist Paediatric Orthopaedics Oncology Cerebral Atherosclerosis Myeloma cleft palate Provider Postpericardiotomy syndrome Penile Cancer Neurology Queer Health Occupational Therapy Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Chinese Medical Practitioner Cerebrovascular & Skull Base Surgery Disaster Medicine Chagas disease Intensive Care Medicine International Health Sleep Apnoea Glomerulonephritis Psychologist Nutrition Graves’ disease TIA Interventional Radiology Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia Thyroid Cancer Dietician Crohn’s disease Sports & Exercise Medicine Scleritis Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology Orthodontics Adult Still's disease Dentistry Myelodysplasia Cicatricial pemphigoid Paramedicine Cosmetic Medicine Lichen sclerosus Radiology Multiple Sclerosis Neuro Oncology Child And Adolescent Psychiatry Geriatric Wellness Polyarteritis nodosa Phonetics Hypercholesterolaemia Neurodegenerative Disorders Myocardial infarction Kidney Cancer Stiff person syndrome (SPS) Cataracts Neuro Intensive Care Susac’s syndrome Neuromuscular Medicine Leukocytoclastic vasculitis POEMS syndrome Eosinophilic fasciitis Cogan’s syndrome Thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) Meniere’s disease Ophthalmic Pathology Endovascular Surgical Neuroradiology Optometrist Audiology Sperm & testicular autoimmunity Carotid Artery occlusion Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Gastroenterology Giant cell arteritis (temporal arteritis) Simulation Medicine Sjögren’s syndrome Stroke Multifocal Motor Neuropathy (MMN) Autoimmune urticaria HIV / AIDS Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery Respiratory Medicine IgG4-related sclerosing disease Tolosa-Hunt syndrome (THS) Nurse Juvenile arthritis Celiac disease Diabetes Mellitus Mouth, Head and Neck Cancer Pharmacist Sarcoidosis Autoimmune pancreatitis Oral Health Dermatopathology Laryngeal Cancer Lyme disease chronic Autoimmune hepatitis Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD) Interventional Cardiology Technology Podiatry Endoscopy Stomach Cancer Patient Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) Psychology Benign mucosal pemphigoid Psoriatic arthritis Endometriosis Obstetric Anesthesiology Healthcare Otolaryngology Bariatric Surgery Coxsackie myocarditis Breast Cancer Nuclear Radiology Applied Dermatology Metabolic Syndrome Cervical Cancer Uterine Cancer Eye Cancer Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology Transplant Pulmonology IgA Nephropathy Public Health Rehabilitation Medicine Erythema nodosum Mesothelioma Robotic Surgery Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical Immunology General Practice (Family Medicine) Toxicology ATSI Health Practitioner Non Hodgkin Lymphoma Transplant Nephrology Wheel Travel Medicine Neutropenia Public Health Medicine Musculoskeletal Radiology Retrieval Medicine Blood Cancer Ovarian Cancer Addiction Medicine Plastic Surgery Conference Organiser Osteopath Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Motor Neuron Disease Occupational Therapist Trauma Cerebral Palsy Autoimmune angioedema

The latest medical research on Audiologist

The research magnet gathers the latest research from around the web, based on your specialty area. Below you will find a sample of some of the most recent articles from reputable medical journals about audiologist gathered by our medical AI research bot.

The selection below is filtered by medical specialty. Registered users get access to the Plexa Intelligent Filtering System that personalises your dashboard to display only content that is relevant to you.

Want more personalised results?

Request Access

Learning to Implement Dialogic Reading Through Video-Based Online Training: A Preliminary Study.

Language, Speech, and Hearing Services

Dialogic reading (DR) is an evidence-based method for reading with young children that is associated with improvements in children's oral language skills. There is, however, a lack of consensus on (a) how to train educators to deliver the intervention and (b) methods for assessing implementation fidelity. We designed this study to provide preliminary data about the viability of online video modules as an initial training option within a future tiered training model.

We employed a within-subject repeated-measures group design to evaluate educators' (N = 20) implementation of DR after viewing training videos. Educators filmed themselves reading three storybooks with a child "as they would typically" to establish pretest reading behaviors. After being given access to a series of DR training videos, the educators recorded themselves reading three storybooks with the child using DR strategies as a posttest measure.

Educators improved their use of individual strategies included in the DR instructional sequence at posttest; however, most participants did not consistently follow the entire instructional sequence as designed. Only one educator delivered the complete DR instructional sequence in > 80% of opportunities at posttest.

Modifications to video training modules and additional coaching support may be warranted for many educators to achieve the level of implementation fidelity needed to improve the child's oral language skills from the intervention.

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25749387.

Device and Fitting Protocol for a Transitional Intervention for Debilitating Hyperacusis.

Journal of Speech, Language, and

This report describes a hearing device and corresponding fitting protocol designed for use in a transitional intervention for debilitating loudness-based hyperacusis.

The intervention goal is to transition patients with hyperacusis from their typical counterproductive sound avoidance behaviors (i.e., sound attenuation and limited exposure to healthy low-level sounds) into beneficial sound therapy treatment that can expand their dynamic range to the point where they can tolerate everyday sounds and experience an improved quality of life. This requires a combination of counseling and sound therapy, the latter of which is provided via the hearing device technology, signal processing, and precision fitting approach described in this report. The device combines a miniature behind-the-ear sound processor and a custom earpiece designed to maximize the attenuation of external sounds. Output-limiting loudness suppression is used to restrict exposure to offending high-level sounds while unity gain amplification maximizes exposure to healthy and tolerable lower level sounds. The fitting process includes measurement of the real-ear unaided response, the real-ear measurement (REM) system noise floor, the real-ear occluded response, real-ear insertion gain, and the output limit. With these measurements, the device can achieve the prescribed unity gain needed to provide transparent access to comfortable sound levels. It also supports individualized configuration of the therapeutic noise from an on-board sound generator and adaptive output limiting based on treatment-induced increases in dynamic range.

The utility of this device and fitting protocol, in combination with structured counseling, is highlighted in the outcomes of a successful 6-month trial of the transitional intervention described in a companion report in this issue.

Results of a 6-Month Field Trial of a Transitional Intervention for Debilitating Hyperacusis.

Journal of Speech, Language, and

We present results from a 6-month field trial of a transitional intervention for debilitating primary hyperacusis, including a combination of structured counseling; promotion of safe, comfortable, and healthy sound exposure; and therapeutic broadband sound from sound generators. This intervention is designed to overcome barriers to successful delivery of therapeutic sound as a tool to downregulate neural hyperactivity in the central auditory pathways (i.e., the maladaptive mechanism believed to account for primary hyperacusis) and, together with the counseling, reduce the associated negative emotional and physiological reactions to debilitating hyperacusis.

Twelve adults with normal or near-normal audiometric thresholds, complaints consistent with their pretreatment loudness discomfort levels ≤ 75 dB HL at multiple frequencies, and hearing questionnaire scores ≥ 24 completed the sound therapy-based intervention. The low-level broadband therapeutic sound was delivered by ear-level devices fitted bilaterally with either occluding earpieces and output-limiting loudness suppression (LS; to limit exposure to offensive sound levels) or open domes to maximize comfort and exposure to sound therapy. Thresholds for LS (primary outcome) were incrementally adjusted across six monthly visits based on treatment-driven change in loudness judgments for running speech in sound field. Secondary outcomes included categorical loudness judgments, speech understanding, and questionnaires to assess the hyperacusis problem, quality of life, and depression. An exit survey assessed satisfaction with and benefit from the intervention and the counseling, therapeutic sound, and LS components.

The mean change in LS (34.8 dB) was highly significant (effect size = 2.045). Eleven of 12 participants achieved ≥ 16-dB change in LS, consistent with highly significant change in sound-based questionnaire scores. Exit surveys indicated satisfaction with and benefit from the intervention.

The transitional intervention was successful in improving the hyperacusis conditions of 11 of 12 study participants while reducing their sound avoidance behaviors and reliance on sound protection.

Background and Rationale for a Transitional Intervention for Debilitating Hyperacusis.

Journal of Speech, Language, and

This report provides the experimental, clinical, theoretical, and historical background that motivated a patented transitional intervention and its implementation and evaluation in a field trial for mitigation of debilitating loudness-based hyperacusis (LH).

Barriers for ameliorating LH, which is differentiated here from other forms of hyperacusis, are delineated, including counterproductive management and treatment strategies that may exacerbate the condition. Evidence for hyper-gain central auditory processes as the bases for LH and the associated LH-induced distress and stress responses are presented. This presentation is followed by an overview of prior efforts to use counseling and therapeutic sound as interventional tools for recalibrating the hyper-gain LH response. We also consider previous efforts to use output-limiting sound-protection devices in the management of LH. This historical background lays the foundation for our transitional intervention protocol and its implementation and evaluation in a field trial.

The successful implementation and evaluation of a transitional intervention, which we document in the outcomes of a companion proof-of-concept field trial in this issue, build on our prior efforts and those of others to understand, manage, and treat hyperacusis. These efforts to overcome significant barriers and vexing long-standing challenges in the management and treatment of LH, as reviewed here, are the pillars of the transitional intervention and its primary components, namely, counseling combined with protective sound management and therapeutic sound, which we detail in separate reports in this issue.

Counseling Protocol for a Transitional Intervention for Debilitating Hyperacusis.

Journal of Speech, Language, and

This clinical focus article describes a structured counseling protocol for use with protected sound management and therapeutic sound in a transitional intervention for debilitating hyperacusis. The counseling protocol and its associated visual aids are crafted as a teaching tool to educate affected individuals about hyperacusis and encourage their acceptance of a transitional intervention.

The counseling protocol includes five components. First, the patient's audiometric results are reviewed with the patient, and the transitional intervention is introduced. An overview of peripheral auditory structures and central neural pathways and the concept of central gain are covered in the second and third components. Maladaptive hyper-gain processes within the auditory neural pathways, which underlie the hyperacusis condition, and associated connections with nonauditory processes responsible for negative reactions to hyperacusis are covered in the fourth component. Detrimental effects from misused hearing protection devices (HPDs) and the necessity to wean the patient from overuse of HPDs are also discussed. In the fifth component, the importance of therapeutic sound is introduced as a tool to downregulate hyper-gain activity within the auditory pathways; its implementation in uncontrolled and controlled sound environments is described. It is explained that, over the course of the transitional intervention, recalibration of the hyper-gain processes will be ongoing, leading to restoration of normal homeostasis within the auditory pathways. In turn, associated activation of reactive nonauditory processes, which contribute to hyperacusis-related distress, will be reduced or eliminated. As recalibration progresses, there will be less need for protected sound management and sound therapy. Sound tolerance will improve, hyperacusis will subside, and daily activities in typical healthy sound environments will again become routine.

The combination of counseling with protected sound management and therapeutic sound is highlighted in companion reports, including a summary of the outcomes of a successful trial of the transitional intervention.

How Hearing Loss and Cochlear Implantation Affect Verbal Working Memory: Evidence From Adolescents.

Journal of Speech, Language, and

Verbal working memory is poorer for children with hearing loss than for peers with normal hearing (NH), even with cochlear implantation and early intervention. Poor verbal working memory can affect academic performance, especially in higher grades, making this deficit a significant problem. This study examined the stability of verbal working memory across middle childhood, tested working memory in adolescents with NH or cochlear implants (CIs), explored whether signal enhancement can improve verbal working memory, and tested two hypotheses proposed to explain the poor verbal working memory of children with hearing loss: (a) Diminished auditory experience directly affects executive functions, including working memory; (b) degraded auditory inputs inhibit children's abilities to recover the phonological structure needed for encoding verbal material into storage.

Fourteen-year-olds served as subjects: 55 with NH; 52 with CIs. Immediate serial recall tasks were used to assess working memory. Stimuli consisted of nonverbal, spatial stimuli and four kinds of verbal, acoustic stimuli: nonrhyming and rhyming words, and nonrhyming words with two kinds of signal enhancement: audiovisual and indexical. Analyses examined (a) stability of verbal working memory across middle childhood, (b) differences in verbal and nonverbal working memory, (c) effects of signal enhancement on recall, (d) phonological processing abilities, and (e) source of the diminished verbal working memory in adolescents with cochlear implants.

Verbal working memory remained stable across middle childhood. Adolescents across groups performed similarly for nonverbal stimuli, but those with CIs displayed poorer recall accuracy for verbal stimuli; signal enhancement did not improve recall. Poor phonological sensitivity largely accounted for the group effect.

The central executive for working memory is not affected by hearing loss or cochlear implantation. Instead, the phonological deficit faced by adolescents with CIs denigrates the representation in storage and augmenting the signal does not help.

Comparison of the audiological knowledge of three chatbots - ChatGPT, Bing Chat, and Bard.

Audiology and Neuro-Otology

The purpose of this study was to evaluate three chatbots - OpenAI ChatGPT, Microsoft Bing Chat (currently Copilot), and Google Bard (currently Gemini) - in terms of their responses to a defined set of audiological questions.

Each chatbot was presented with the same 10 questions. The authors rated the responses on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5. Additional features, such as the number of inaccuracies or errors and the provision of references, were also examined.

Most responses given by all three chatbots were rated as satisfactory or better. However all chatbots generated at least a few errors or inaccuracies. ChatGPT achieved the highest overall score, while Bard was the worst. Bard was also the only chatbot unable to provide a response to one of the questions. ChatGPT was the only chatbot that did not provide information about its sources.

Chatbots are an intriguing tool that can be used to access basic information in a specialized area like audiology. Nevertheless, one needs to be careful, as correct information is not infrequently mixed in with errors that are hard to pick up unless the user is well versed in the field.

Vestibular Rehabilitation of Patient with Hypertrophic Olivary Degeneration: A Case Report.

Am Academy Audiology

Background Hypertrophic olivary degeneration (HOD) is a rare disorder that typically develops in the weeks to months following a structural brainst...

Acceptability of Racial Microaggressions From the Perspective of Speech-Language Pathology Students.

Language, Speech, and Hearing Services

Implicit racial and ethnic biases have been documented across a variety of allied health professions; however, minimal research on this topic has been conducted within the field of speech-language pathology. The purpose of this study was to understand implicit racial and ethnic bias in speech-language pathology students by examining their perceptions and attitudes about the acceptability of racial and ethnic microaggressions. We also examined whether the student ratings varied by their racial and ethnic identity (White vs. people of color [POC]).

Fifty-nine students (72% White, 28% POC) currently enrolled in a speech-language pathology program voluntarily completed the Acceptability of Racial Microaggressions Scale via an online Qualtrics survey.

Although 70% of the student ratings classified the microaggressive statements as unacceptable, 30% of their ratings classified the statements as either (a) acceptable or (b) neither acceptable nor unacceptable. Although both groups of students rated the majority of statements as unacceptable, students who self-identified as White rated more statements as acceptable than students who self-identified as POC.

Findings indicating relatively high rejection of microaggressive statements by speech-language pathology students are promising. However, responses were not uniform, and a nontrivial proportion of responses provided by speech-language pathology students reflected passivity toward or active endorsement of microaggressive statements.

Integrated bimodal fitting and binaural streaming technology outcomes for unilateral cochlear implant users.

International Journal of Epidemiology

Adults typically receive only one cochlear implant (CI) due to cost constraints, with a contralateral hearing aid recommended when there is aidable hearing. Standard hearing aids differ from a CI in terms of processing strategy and function as a separate entity, requiring the user to integrate the disparate signals. Integrated bimodal technology has recently been introduced to address this challenge. The aim of the study was to investigate the performance of unilateral CI users with and without an integrated bimodal fitting and determine whether binaural streaming technology offers additional benefit.

Twenty-six CI users using integrated bimodal technology.

Repeated measures where outcomes and user experience were assessed using a functional test battery more representative of real life listening (speech perception in noise tests, localisation test, tracking test) and the speech, spatial and qualities-of-hearing scale (SSQ).

Bimodal outcomes were significantly better than for CI alone. Speech perception in noise improvements ranged from 1.4 dB to 3.5 dB depending on the location of speech and noise. The localisation and tracking tests, and the SSQ also showed significant improvements. Binaural streaming offered additional improvement (1.2 dB to 6.1 dB on the different speech tests).

Integrated bimodal and binaural streaming technology improved the performance of unilateral CI users.

Enhancing audiology students' understanding of person-centered care: insights from an multi-national virtual student conference.

International Journal of Epidemiology

This project sought to investigate the impact of a multi-national peer learning initiative in facilitating a student-led conference on person-centred care (PCC). The primary objective was to assess students' comprehension of PCC elements before and after engaging in the opportunity, with a concurrent evaluation of the efficacy of the opportunity.

A mixed-methods study protocol was followed. Following the conference, participants completed a four-part survey including (a) demographics, (b) retrospective pre-post Likert scale, (c) Likert rating of conference experience and (d) five open-ended questions.

One hundred and four participants (92.4% female) with a mean age of 21 years (0.07 SD) participated in the study.

A significant difference in awareness pre-post conference was demonstrated across all topics (WSR, p < 0.001) with participants satisfied with the conference. Qualitative analysis revealed three main themes: (a) application of PCC; (b) perspectives of PCC; and () barriers to PCC; with nine sub-themes.

The conference was beneficial in enhancing students' awareness of topics and principles of PCC. Innovative pedagogical approaches should be considered in order to enhance healthcare education allowing future clinicians to better meet the dynamic needs of their clients.

Bilingualism Predicts Affective Theory of Mind in Autistic Adults.

Journal of Speech, Language, and

This study examined the impact of bilingualism on affective theory of mind (ToM) and social prioritization (SP) among autistic adults compared to neurotypical comparison participants.

Fifty-two (25 autistic, 27 neurotypical) adult participants (ages 21-35 years) with varying second language (L2) experience, ranging from monolingual to bilingual, completed an affective ToM task. A subset of this sample also completed a dynamic eye-tracking task designed to capture differences in time spent looking at social aspects of a scene (SP). Four language groups were compared on task performance (monolingual autism and neurotypical, bilingual autism and neurotypical), followed by analyses examining the contribution of L2 experience, autism characteristics, and social face prioritization on affective ToM, controlling for verbal IQ. Finally, we conducted an analysis to identify the contribution of SP on affective ToM when moderated by autism status and L2 experience, controlling for verbal IQ.

The monolingual autism group performed significantly worse than the other three groups (bilingual autism, monolingual neurotypical, and bilingual neurotypical) on the affective ToM task; however, there were no significant differences between the bilingual autism group compared to the monolingual and bilingual neurotypical groups. For autistic individuals, affective ToM capabilities were positively associated with both verbal IQ and L2 experience but did not relate to autism characteristics or SP during eye tracking. Neurotypical participants showed greater SP during the eye-tracking task, and SP did not relate to L2 or autism characteristics for autistic individuals. SP and verbal IQ predicted affective ToM performance across autism and neurotypical groups, but this relationship was moderated by L2 experience; SP more strongly predicted affective ToM performance among participants with lower L2 experience (e.g., monolingual) and had less of an impact for those with higher L2 experience.

This study provides support for a bilingual advantage in affective ToM for autistic individuals.

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25696083.