Mózgowe podłoże rozwoju mowy w autyzmie
Cerebral Origin of Speech Development in Autism

Summary/Abstract: Although in a majority of cases, autistic children face difficulties communicating verbally, the valid diagnostic classifications do not identify them as the main symptoms of the disorder. The adoption of such a position has been supported by results of (mainly behavioural) research, which imply that language and speech development in the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is extremely variable and individually diversified and the observed delay of its development is not unique to autism. On the other hand, the research conducted by means of neuroimaging methods shows that an atypical structure and activity of Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas, which are important for language processes, exist in the ASD. A weak structural and functional connectivity in the arcuate fasciculus, which connects these structures, has also been discovered. It is assumed that the changes arise from neurodevelopmental irregularities occurring at an early stage of foetal life and their causes are probably genetic. This study characterises speech development disorders and atypical brain development in autism referring to results of both behavioural and neuroimaging research.

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