Over-Imitation in Four-to-Six-Year-Old Children with Autism and Typically Developing Children

This study adds to the existing pool of knowledge regarding the imitative behavior of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods: The over-imitation behaviors of preschool children with ASD were compared to age-matched typically developing (TD) children. Results: The hypothesis was that the TD children would over-imitate to a much greater degree than the children with ASD. Contrary to expectation, the children with ASD were found to over-imitate at the same rate as the TD group. Conclusion: Subtle differences were noted in the performance of the two groups and implications for autism treatment protocols is presented.