Importance of imitation skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Imitation involves a child’s ability to copy others’:

• actions with objects (such as banging on a drum, pushing a car)
• gestures and body movements (such as clapping hands or waving)
• vocalizations (sounds) or words

Typically-developing children learn to imitate in infancy, and has been noted as early as the neonatal stage. If you watch a baby and their caregiver interacting, you will likely see both baby and caregiver imitating each other’s sounds, actions, and facial expressions. This back-and-forth imitation is an early conversation without words, and it helps infants learn to:

• express interest in their caregiver for social reasons, as opposed to expressing basic needs for food or sleep
• share an emotion with their caregiver
• take turns
• pay attention to their caregiver

There are two distinct functions to imitation:

• Social function: engage in social and emotional exchanges with others
• Learning function: to acquire new skills and knowledge

In typically-developing infants, imitation emerges early in development and plays an important role in the development of cognitive and social communication behaviours, such as play, joint attention, and language. Sustained reciprocal imitation is the predominant mode of social interaction and preverbal communication between same-aged toddlers. These imitative exchanges appear to foster continued social interaction by communicating a common understanding of ongoing activities and play a role in the acquisition of more sophisticated play skills. The imitation of peers serves to increase and refine peer interactions during early childhood and remains a strong elicitor of social interest and interaction throughout childhood. In summary, the use of imitation in infancy and early childhood is associated with the development of more sophisticated social communication and various other skills.