The Processing of Audiovisual Speech Is Linked with Vocabulary in Autistic and Nonautistic Children: An ERP Study

Explaining individual differences in vocabulary autism is critical, as understanding and using words to communicate are key predictors of long-term outcomes for autistic individuals. Differences audiovisual speech processing may explain variability autism. The efficiency can be indexed via amplitude suppression, wherein the event-related potential (ERP) reduced at P2 component response compared auditory-only speech. This study used electroencephalography (EEG) measure amplitudes norm-referenced, standardized assessments 25 nonautistic children determine whether suppression (a) differs or (b) explains children. A series regression analyses evaluated associations between scores. Both groups demonstrated on average, relative Between-group mean were nonsignificant. Individual positively associated with expressive through receptive vocabulary, evidenced by a significant indirect effect observed across groups. results suggest that variance