Social enhancement of associative learning in neurotypical, speaking autistic, and minimally speaking autistic preschoolers.

Small and imbalanced sample, particularly the minimally speaking group, which limits statistical power for detecting differences within that group. The minimally speaking group was overwhelmingly male, so sex-related effects on learning cannot be ruled out. Learning was assessed with a single test trial per condition and brief exposure, which limits the strength of inferences and warrants replication. The paradigm cannot fully separate associative learning from a general social bias or from reward-related processes; the authors acknowledge that complementary designs are needed. Cognitive functioning was not included as a covariate because the authors considered it a defining feature of the minimally speaking group, but a reader may disagree with that choice. The study is cross-sectional and cannot determine whether the absence of social enhancement is a stable trait or a developmental stage.

Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the Eagles Autism Challenge. No industry sponsor, no commercial product, and no author conflict of interest is declared.

Do not conclude that all autistic children fail to benefit from social cues in learning. The null finding is specific to the minimally speaking subgroup; speaking autistic preschoolers did show social enhancement of associative learning, though smaller than neurotypical peers. Generalising the minimally speaking result to the whole autistic population misrepresents what the data show.