Comparative study of the imitation ability in Specific Language Impairment and Autism Spectrum Impairment.

Purpose: To compare abilities of imitating generic and sequential motion gesture schemes in family routines among children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Specific Language Impairment (SLI) and to analyze the relation between imitation index and verbal production in the ASD group.

Methods: The sample was constituted by 2:1 pairing of 36 children, according to gender and age. All of them were diagnosed by a multidisciplinary team as belonging to the ASD group (n=24) or SLI group (n=12) and were under direct and indirect intervention in a school clinic.