The effects of positive emotional gesture guidance on speech sound discrimination in Thai children with ASD: A mismatch negativity study

Abstract

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience difficulty with sound discrimination. In such cases, non-verbal communication, such as gestures, is known to improve language performance. The objectives of this study were to compare ‘Thai-words’ speech sound discrimination with positive and neutral emotional stimulus paradigm using the mismatch negativity (MMN) technique, between children with ASD and typically developing children (TDC); and to find the correlation between MMN and clinical severity of ASD. Event-related potentials (ERP) using neutral and positive emotional stimulus paradigm were assessed and the MMN was analyzed. Our results found that children with ASD showed less negative mean amplitude of MMN over Cz electrode compared to the TDC. Moreover, the mean amplitude of MMN in the ASD group was positively correlated with the sensory/cognitive awareness domain of Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC). In conclusion, the MMN can be used as an electrophysiological marker of ASD clinical severity.