Exploring spatial memory in children with autism and ADHD
The study investigates spatial memory in neurotypicals, ASD and ADHD children. In a reaction-time accuracy task, children (N = 117) were presented with a grid containing twenty-five individual places. In the presentation phase, children saw different categories of object-in-places which varied from technical to social role play toys. An interference object which was either the same or a different-object exemplar filled the delay between the presentation and test. At test, children were required to recall the location occupied by the object. Among the clinical and matched control groups tested, comparatively better place memory accuracy was evident in ASD children; however this was accompanied by longer place memory reaction times. Same-object presentation in the delay was improving place memory accuracy and speeding up reaction times of children, in comparison to a different-object exemplar. Technical objects were better remembered by the mainly male sample than roleplay and neutral objects, but this particular category of objects had the slowest reaction times. When the binding strategies as per Common Region Test (CRT) were included in the analyses, place memory accuracy was more accurate among systematic coders than unsystematic coders. Interestingly, place memory accuracy and reaction times of those who adopted systematic binding benefitted more from repetition (same-object delay) than those who coded unsystematically - a pattern found across most object categories. Thus, one could say that the repetition was helping to reinforce the object-place binding among systematic coders.
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