Concordance between physiological arousal and emotion expression during fear in young children with autism spectrum disorders.
Gemma Zantinge, Sophie van Rijn, Lex Stockmann and 1 others
PMID 29595334WHAT IT FOUND
No clear group difference was found in the link between arousal and expression during fear in young children with autism and typical children.
Both groups showed similar heart rate and visible fear responses. Low visible fear does not prove low internal arousal.
Key findings
01Heart rate increased during the fear task in both groups, and the heart rate response did not differ between children with ASD and typically developing children.
02Facial and body fear expression did not differ between children with ASD and typically developing children.
03In typically developing children, higher average heart rate during fear was associated with higher fear expression; in children with ASD, this association was not found.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was small, especially the autism group, so complex group comparisons were exploratory and the direct test of the arousal-expression link was not clear. The autism group had mean FSIQ 86.29 and the typical group 108.31, although the study found no relationship between IQ and heart rate or expression. Most children with autism were boys, and there was only one girl with autism, so gender comparisons are limited. Only fear and heart rate were measured, so results may not apply to other emotions or other arousal systems. The task used a strong, non-social fear stimulus, so everyday subtle social emotional situations may be different.
Declared interests
This work was supported by WOP (Grant/Award Number: WOP GGZ Rivierduinen (2012-2017)). No other conflicts of interest are reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that children with autism have blunted emotional responses. Heart rate and visible fear rose similarly to typical children. The possible mismatch between arousal and expression was based on small exploratory comparisons, and the direct group comparison did not show a clear difference.