Social Timing in Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Master's Thesis , 2017 , 172 Pages

Psychology - Developmental Psychology

The emphasis of this study is on social timing during parent-child interaction in a real-life environment in preschoolers with ASD. As an additional feature, the children and adults in this sample received Musical Intervention Therapy (MIT) in North Wales in the United Kingdom (UK). This allows comparison of interaction with music (hereafter referred to as 'Music') and without music ('Interaction') within an MIT setting.

Timing plays a vital role in communication. It allows perception and coordination of communication tools such as speech, facial expressions, and body language. For example, neurotypical individuals naturally sense when it is their turn to speak, and use pauses to emphasise or alter the meaning of what they are trying to convey. When timing is optimal and communication flows evenly, people remain largely unaware of its importance. On the contrary, erratic timing is noticed immediately. For example, when the audio or video transmission during a Skype-conversation lags behind, one can still carry on with his or her conversation but it becomes harder to read social cues and communication becomes tedious.

Scholars refer to this type of timing as 'social timing'. Its role is to structure and organise the timing of verbal and non-verbal communication tools. Social timing is further split into the temporal organisation of our own body language and speech ('intrapersonal') and that between self and other ('interpersonal').

Social timing in parent-infant interaction plays a key role for long-term development of communication and social skills. The pioneers of developmental social timing studies focused on describing rhythmicity of pre-verbal communication in the 1970s. A decade later, advances in statistical methods allowed examination of intra- and interpersonal timing, which can be cyclical and synchronous respectively.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Summary
• Table of Contents
• List of Tables
• List of Figures
• Acronyms
• 1 General introduction
  • 1.1 Context
  • 1.2 Problem statement
  • 1.3 Aim and objectives
  • 1.4 Scope
  • 1.5 Research questions
  • 1.6 Significance of this study
  • 1.7 Definitions of terms and key concepts
  • 1.8 Thesis structure
• 2 Social timing in young children with and without ASD
  • 2.1 Introduction
  • 2.2 Background to social timing
    • 2.2.1 The role of timing in communication and development
    • 2.2.2 Defining social timing
    • 2.2.3 Related but different uses of 'synchrony'
  • 2.3 Social timing from a developmental perspective
    • 2.3.1 Which developments lead up to synchrony?
    • 2.3.2 What is the significance of synchrony for later development?
  • 2.4 Social timing in ASD
    • 2.4.1 Social and communication deficits in children with ASD
    • 2.4.2 Timing explanations of ASD
    • 2.4.3 Timing in ASD
    • 2.4.4 Social timing in ASD
    • 2.4.5 Intrapersonal timing in ASD
    • 2.4.6 Interpersonal timing in ASD
  • 2.5 Summary and conclusion
• 3 Studying social timing
  • 3.1 Introduction
  • 3.2 Introduction to social timing methods
    • 3.2.1 Fully automated methods
    • 3.2.2 Non-computational methods
  • 3.3 Studying social timing in ASD
    • 3.3.1 Studies using automated analysis
    • 3.3.2 Studies using micro-analysis
    • 3.3.3 Studies using global analysis
  • 3.4 Monadic Phases
    • 3.4.1 Theoretical background
    • 3.4.2 Participants of MP studies
    • 3.4.3 Experimental set-up
    • 3.4.4 Coding of Monadic Phases
    • 3.4.5 Statistical analysis of Monadic Phases
    • 3.4.6 Validity, inter-rater agreement and reliability
  • 3.5 Summary and conclusion
• 4 Methods
  • 4.1 Introduction
  • 4.2 Choice and justification of methods
    • 4.2.1 Population and sample
    • 4.2.2 Data analytic approach
    • 4.2.3 Adaptation of research instrument
  • 4.3 Adaptation of Monadic Phases
    • 4.3.1 Draft 1
    • 4.3.2 Draft 2: Monadic Phases 2.0
    • 4.3.3 Conclusion on Monadic Phase adaptation
  • 4.4 Method
    • 4.4.1 Participants
    • 4.4.2 Setting and apparatus
    • 4.4.3 Ethical approval
    • 4.4.4 Procedures
    • 4.4.5 Data analysis plan
  • 4.5 Summary
• 5 Results
  • 5.1 Introduction
  • 5.2 Preliminary analyses
    • 5.2.1 Suitability
    • 5.2.2 Stationarity
  • 5.3 Cyclicity and synchrony
    • 5.3.1 Cyclicity
    • 5.3.2 Coherence
    • 5.3.3 Synchrony
  • 5.4 Summary
• 6 Discussion
  • 6.1 Introduction
  • 6.2 Answering the research questions
    • 6.2.1 Cyclicity
    • 6.2.2 Synchrony
  • 6.3 Unexpected findings
    • 6.3.1 Music enhances social timing in ASD
    • 6.3.2 No change over time
  • 6.4 Evaluating the chosen approach
    • 6.4.1 Terminology
    • 6.4.2 Study design
    • 6.4.3 Data analysis
    • 6.4.4 Adaptation of coding scheme
    • 6.4.5 Comparability with other studies
• 7 Conclusion
  • 7.1 Introduction
  • 7.2 Key findings
  • 7.3 Contributions and limitations
  • 7.4 Beyond this study
• References

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This thesis investigates the social timing abilities of preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It aims to contribute to the understanding of social timing deficits in ASD and explore the potential of music to enhance these abilities.

• Social timing in ASD
• The role of music in social timing
• The development of social timing in children
• The use of the Monadic Phases coding scheme to quantify social timing
• The impact of social timing on communication and development

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

• Chapter 1: General introduction This chapter provides an overview of the thesis, including the context, problem statement, aim, objectives, scope, research questions, significance of the study, definitions of terms, and thesis structure.
• Chapter 2: Social timing in young children with and without ASD This chapter presents a comprehensive review of the literature on social timing in typical development and ASD. It explores the role of timing in communication and development, defines social timing, and discusses related concepts. It also examines the developmental trajectory of social timing and its significance for later development.
• Chapter 3: Studying social timing This chapter discusses different methods for studying social timing, with a focus on the Monadic Phases coding scheme. It reviews the theoretical background of Monadic Phases, describes its application in previous studies, and discusses its validity and reliability.
• Chapter 4: Methods This chapter outlines the methods used in the study, including the population, sample, data analytic approach, and adaptation of the Monadic Phases coding scheme. It provides a detailed description of the participants, setting, apparatus, ethical approval, procedures, and data analysis plan.
• Chapter 5: Results This chapter presents the findings of the study, including preliminary analyses, cyclicity, coherence, synchrony, and a summary of the results.
• Chapter 6: Discussion This chapter discusses the findings of the study, addressing the research questions and exploring unexpected findings. It evaluates the chosen approach, including terminology, study design, data analysis, adaptation of the coding scheme, and comparability with other studies.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The main keywords and focus topics of this thesis include social timing, autism spectrum disorder, music, Monadic Phases, cyclicity, synchrony, communication, development, and interaction.

• College: University of Wales, Bangor
• Author: Anne-Katrin Muth (Author)
• Publication Year: 2017
• Pages: 172
• Catalog Number: V461279
• ISBN (eBook): 9783668951266
• ISBN (Book): 9783668951273
• Language: English
• Tags: autism, asd, social timing, social, social behaviour, social behavior, synchrony, social synchrony, time series analysis, developmental, preschoolers, children