Referential Gaze and Word Mapping in Autism Spectrum Disorders

摘要: Autism is characterized by difficulty in social interaction and communication, including difficulties using responding to others’ gazes delays language development (American Psychiatric Association 1994). In this chapter, we use the term “autism spectrum disorder” (ASD), which will appear next version of DSM, DSM-V. The clinical manifestations ASD vary greatly with developmental level chronological age, but communication remains a central issue throughout lives individuals 1994; Volkmar Pauls 2003). Children show severely delayed vocabulary development. A recent study approximately 1,000 people aged 4–52 years reported that about 41 % had 10 could not speak (Hus et al. 2007). Thus, exploring nature such word learning important for promotion their particularly focus on referential gaze fast mapping. Fast mapping one word-mapping processes children learn initial associations between novel words referent objects (Carey 1978). later stages process, meaning becomes supplemented through additional experience. There are too many possible hypotheses how map onto world (Quine 1960), speaker’s eye plays an role resolving word-referent uncertainty problem. For example,