Imitation
Video Summary
Imitation of gestures, noises and skills is an important milestone of typical development that promotes learning, social interaction and play. Dr. Soorya describes how the imitative abiltiies seen in typically developing children are reduced or absent in children on the autism spectrum.
"Imitation...is the foundation of many early learning experiences, thus developing a child's motivation and skill in imitation of gestures and language is a critical goal for many educational programs for children with autism."
— Latha Soorya, PhD