Our methods
Our methods
Studying language comprehension in
autistic minimal, unreliable and non-speakers
Around 30% of autistic people have no or minimal spoken language. Despite a dramatic rise in global funding for autism research over the past few decades, autistic non-speakers have remained chronically under-researched. As a result, we know very little about autistic non-speakers' language comprehension abilities.
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The aim of our research program is to address this research gap by developing novel methods for studying language comprehension in autistic minimal, unreliable and non-speakers.​
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​To this end, we are currently running two studies, led by Dr Hannah Rapaport.
Study 1: Brain signatures of language comprehension
The aim of this study is to reliably detect 'brain signatures' of language comprehension in autistic non- and minimal speakers.
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We use a brain recording tool called 'electroencephalography' (EEG) to record participants' brain activity as they listen to a series of spoken sentences.
Some of the sentences end in a word that is congruent with the rest of the sentence (e.g., The clouds are high up in the sky), and some end in a word that does not make sense in the sentence (e.g., The clouds are high up in the door).​
​​A difference in the brain response between the congruent and incongruent sentences would offer neural evidence of language comprehension.
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We are analysing the data and look forward to sharing the results soon.​
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Watch this video by former Woolgar Lab researcher, Dr Selene Petit, to learn more about this study.
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Key Publication: Petit et al. 2020
Study 2: Adapting classic vocabulary tests to accommodate autistic non-speakers
Classic vocabulary tests may underestimate autistic non-speakers' language abilities because they are not designed to accommodate autistic non-speaker's needs.
The aim of this study is to develop new tools to characterise language comprehension in autistic non-speakers who communicate using letterboards.
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We adapted a classic picture vocabulary test to better accommodate the needs of autistic non-speakers.
Participants are asked to:
A) Select one of four pictures that matches a spoken word, or
B) Select one of four words that matches a spoken definition.
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Participants respond using a number board and work alongside a familiar letterboard practitioner who cannot themselves see the pictures.
Get in touch!
We would love to hear from autistic non- and minimal-speakers, their families, practitioners and other stakeholders.
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Please complete the form below if you would like to join our mailing list, find out more about our research, participate in our research, ask a question, or offer suggestions for future research studies.​