Dismantling the "Visual Ease Assumption:" A Review of Visual Narrative Processing in Clinical Populations.

Topics in Cognitive Science
Emily L Coderre

Abstract

Visual narratives, such as wordless picture books and picture sequences like comics, have a long history in clinical testing, research, and intervention settings. The widespread "Visual Ease Assumption" rests on the premise that visual narratives, given their non-linguistic nature, may alleviate processing difficulties in populations that struggle with language. In this paper, I review the evidence for and against this Visual Ease Assumption in three clinical populations in which language deficits are common or diagnostic: autism spectrum disorder (ASD), specific language impairment (SLI; now known as Developmental Language Disorder, DLD), and aphasia. I first redefine the Visual Ease Assumption as two testable predictions: (a) that visual narrative processing should be unimpaired for clinical populations compared to neurotypical (NT) populations; and (b) that in clinical populations, visual narrative processing should be less impaired than linguistic narrative processing. Through a review of the limited evidence available to test these predictions in ASD, SLI, and aphasia, I show that the Visual Ease Assumption is largely unsupported in empirical studies. Furthermore, I outline three additional limitations of the Visual Ease A...Continue Reading

References

Feb 20, 1992·The New England Journal of Medicine·A R Damasio
Feb 1, 1992·Journal of Speech and Hearing Research·D V Bishop, C Adams
Jan 1, 1992·Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines·D V Bishop
Dec 1, 1991·Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders·M H AllenA S Kaufman
Oct 1, 1990·Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology·W W Beatty, N Monson
Apr 1, 1990·Journal of Experimental Child Psychology·M T Bornens
Jan 5, 1990·Science·G H Bower, D G Morrow
Oct 1, 1985·Cognition·S Baron-CohenU Frith
Jun 1, 1985·Journal of Speech and Hearing Research·S Ellis Weismer
May 1, 1982·Brain and Language·W Huber, J Gleber
Jul 1, 1981·Brain and Language·H K UlatowskaS Macaluso-Haynes
Jun 1, 1996·Child Development·H M WellmanC A Schult
Aug 1, 1996·Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders·D J SiegelG Goldstein
Feb 10, 1998·Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders·K A Quill
Apr 2, 1998·Psychological Bulletin·R A Zwaan, G A Radvansky
Jun 2, 2000·Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology·L CappsC Thurber
May 11, 2001·Development and Psychopathology·L G Klinger, G Dawson
Jun 19, 2001·Child Development·H M WellmanJ Watson
Jun 13, 2002·Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders·J N van der GeestH van Engeland
Jan 24, 2003·Autism : the International Journal of Research and Practice·Henry M WellmanKristin Lagattuta
Jul 10, 2003·International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders·Courtenay Frazier Norbury, Dorothy V M Bishop
Aug 12, 2003·Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders·Molly Losh, Lisa Capps
Dec 31, 2003·Trends in Cognitive Sciences·Elisabeth L Hill
Dec 27, 2005·Brain Research Bulletin·Tiziana ZallaNicolas Franck
Jan 28, 2006·Seminars in Speech and Language·Tiffany L Hutchins, Patricia A Prelock
Feb 18, 2006·Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology·Joshua J DiehlEdna Carter Young
Aug 24, 2006·Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders·Nils KalandErik Lykke Mortensen
Dec 13, 2006·Neurobiology of Aging·Sule TinazChantal E Stern
Mar 9, 2007·Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders·Livia ColleHeather K J van der Lely
May 5, 2007·Autism : the International Journal of Research and Practice·Leslie L SpeerElaine Clark
Aug 21, 2007·Augmentative and Alternative Communication : AAC·David R BeukelmanAimee Dietz
Oct 24, 2007·Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders·Delphine B RossetChristine Deruelle
Jun 20, 2008·Neuropsychologia·Deborah M Riby, Peter J B Hancock
Jun 20, 2008·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Wouter B GroenJan K Buitelaar
Sep 13, 2008·Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders·Deborah M Riby, Peter J B Hancock
Feb 5, 2009·Journal of Intellectual Disability Research : JIDR·D Riby, P J B Hancock
Mar 10, 2009·Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders·Chérif P SahyounMaria Mody

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Dec 23, 2019·Topics in Cognitive Science·Neil Cohn, Joseph P Magliano
Dec 11, 2019·Psychonomic Bulletin & Review·Neil Cohn
Apr 15, 2020·Journal of Psycholinguistic Research·Emilia CarlssonCarmela Miniscalco
May 10, 2020·Cognitive Processing·Ines AdornettiFrancesco Ferretti
Feb 7, 2021·Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders·Emme O'Rourke, Emily L Coderre

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Autism

Autism spectrum disorder is associated with challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, and often accompanied by sensory sensitivities and medical issues. Here is the latest research on autism.

Aphasia

Aphasia affects the ability to process language, including formulation and comprehension of language and speech, as well as the ability to read or write. Here is the latest research on aphasia.

Related Papers

International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders
Kristy Dodwell, Edith L Bavin
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines
Tom LoucasGillian Baird
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines
Andrew J O WhitehouseDorothy V M Bishop
© 2021 Meta ULC. All rights reserved