1. Table 2
Significant Partial1 Correlations Between Verbal Fluency Variables,
Creative Elements, and Questions
1Covariate = child age.
*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.
Creative Skills in the Broad Autism Phenotype
A. Camodeca, Ph.D.,1,2 S. A. Scott, B.A.,1 R. Al-Saadi, B.A.,1 S. Gidak, B.A.,1 G. Daniel, B.A.,1 & S. Voelker, Ph.D.1
1University of Windsor, 2The Watson Institute
Abstract
The current study investigated verbal fluency variables and the use of various question types during a
storytelling task. Participants were 49 mothers and their children (ages 3 to 12 years) with a diagnosis
of either autism spectrum disorder or another developmental disability. Mother-child dyads audio-
recorded a storytelling task involving a text-free picture book. These interactions were transcribed and
coded for variables theorized to indicate creative processes. Despite no significant differences in
verbal fluency for the overall task, significant differences in verbal fluency variables were observed
for five pages of the book. As well, differential relationships between predictive questions and overall
verbal fluency variables were observed. Between groups. The possible role of these types of
questions in the development of creative skills is discussed.
Discussion and Future Directions
• These results suggest that parents of children with ASD display subtle
weaknesses in verbal fluency, and that these weaknesses are associated with
decreased use of additional creative elements as defined by this study.
• These verbal fluency weaknesses are also associated with decreased used of
questions requiring understanding social norms and generating additional
information for the story.
• Additionally, more verbal output (either Total, Unique, or Unusual words) is not
associated with increased asking of predictive questions, nor is asking a non-
predictive type of question associated with the asking of predictive questions.
• These findings are of particular interest as the weaknesses associated with ASD
(weak emotion vocabulary, difficulty generating new information, difficulty
understanding social rules, difficulty with predicting outcomes in social
situations) could be perpetuated by parent interactions.
• Future research could investigate the factors common to the five identified pages
of difference, as well as further examine the relations between questions asked
and reading/social comprehension and generation of ideas.
Table 1
Definitions of Variables Utilized in the Current Study
Method
Participant Characteristics (n = 49 mother-child dyads)
• Age:
• Mother Mage = 37.46 (SD = 4.50)
• Child Mage = 7.0 (SD = 2.97)
• Ethnicity: 85.7% Caucasian
• Education: 91.7% Attended college/university
• Child gender: 38 males, 11 females
• Group (based on child diagnosis):
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): n= 21
• Non-ASD Developmental Disability (DD): n= 28
Results
Word Counts ANCOVAs: ASD vs. DD groups
• No significant between group differences for Total, Unique, or Unusual Words aggregated
across the entire story were found (all Fs < 3.183, all ps > .082).
• Significant between group differences (all Fs > 4.450, all ps < .040) were found for:
• Unique Words: pages 10, 15, 17, 18, & 23
• Total Words: pages 15, 17, 18, & 23
• Unusual Words: pages 17, 18, & 23
• These Verbal Fluency variables were summed for further analysis.
Figure 1. ASD and DD group means on five pages of the storybook One Frog Too Many.
Partial Correlations: Verbal Fluency and Additional Creative Elements
• Significant partial correlations were observed between all Verbal Fluency variables computed
for the five identified pages and creative elements of the story.
• Additionally, significant partial correlations were observed between these variables and both
Generative and Social Questions.
• These relations were similar between groups (all Zs < |1.30|, all ps >.194). Aggregate data are
presented.
This research was supported by a grant from Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. The
researchers would like to thank Brian Camodeca for the development of the word count
programs used in this study.
• Significantly different relations between Verbal Fluency variables
tabulated across the entire story were observed between groups (all
Zs>|2.52|, all ps<.012).
• As well, the relations between Predictive Questions and Factual and
Generative Questions differed between groups (Zs>|2.40|, all ps<.016).
Emotion
Words
Additional
Contextual
Information
Character
Names
Generative
Questions
Social
Questions
Unique Words5 .427** .518*** .327* .375** .446**
Unusual Words5 .425** .470*** .448** .369* .391**
Total Words5 .391** .389** .291* .330* .417**
Verbal Fluency Variables1, 2
Unique Words Total different words used
Unusual Words Total unusual3 words used
Total Words Total words used
Questions asked of the child2
Generative Required generating new information to further the
story’s plot
Factual Required identifying factual information from the
story
Social Required knowledge of desired social behaviors to
answer correctly
Predictive Required generating ideas about what might happen
next
Additional creative elements2
Contextual
Information
Adding details about the setting, plot, or characters
Total Emotion Words Total emotion words mentioned
Character Names Total number of characters given names
1Counted for each page
2Counted over entire task
3Based on frequencies obtained from the SUBTLEXus database (Universiteit Gent Department of Experimental Psychology, 2010)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
TotalWords
UniqueWords
UnusualWords
TotalWords
UniqueWords
UnusualWords
TotalWords
UniqueWords
UnusualWords
TotalWords
UniqueWords
UnusualWords
TotalWords
UniqueWords
UnusualWords
Page 10 Page 15 Page 17 Page 18 Page 23
ASD
DD
Partial Correlations: Verbal Fluency and Questions
Introduction
• Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have weaknesses in basic verbal
fluency as well as in creation of more complex narratives such as stories (Albert & Kormos,
2004; Kleinhans 2005; Losh & Capps, 2003; 2006).
• Parents of children with autism may evidence the Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP),
and thus show creative weaknesses which may be related to weak basic verbal fluency
(Lord, 2010; Wong, 2006).
Measures and Procedure
• Mothers audio-recorded a storytelling session with their
child using a text-free picture book (One Frog Too Many,
Mayer & Mayer, 1975).
• Recordings were transcribed verbatim and then coded
using a computerized word count program and a coding
scheme designed by the researchers.
Table 3
Between Group Differences in Partial1 Correlations Between Predictive
Questions and Verbal Fluency and Question Variables
Verbal Fluency/Question Variable
Partial Correlation with Predictive Questions
ASD Group DD Group
Unique Wordsa -.268 .479*
Unusual Wordsa -.436 .387*
Total Wordsa -.281 .466*
Factual Questionsa -.193 .508**
Generative Questionsb -.414 .404*
Note. Letters denote between group significance levels. Asterisks denote within group significance levels.
1Covariate = child age.
ap < .05, b p < .01
*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.