Neuro-Diverse and Neuro-Typical Children: A Comparison of Responses To The McGurk Effect
Click the Poster to View Full Screen, Right click to save image
Juan Victoria
CoPIs:
Areanna Vargas, Rebecca Sisk
College:
The College of Health Professions and Human Services
Major:
Speech-Language Pathology
Faculty Research Advisor(s):
Sarah Patten
Abstract:
This study aims to investigate responses to the McGurk effect by both neurotypical and neurodiverse children. The McGurk effect examines audiovisual perception by assessing individuals' responses to conflicting visual and auditory stimuli (Rosenblum & Saldaña, 1996). In experimental settings, a speaker is recorded saying one syllable (e.g., 'ba'), and the visual component is then replaced with a video of someone uttering a different syllable (e.g., 'ga') while retaining the original audio. The discrepancy between what is heard ('ba') and seen ('ga') can lead individuals to perceive the sound as 'ba,' 'da,' or 'ga,' depending on their reliance on visual cues or the integration of visual and auditory systems. While extensively studied in neurotypical populations (Brancazio et al., 2003), its exploration in neurodiverse groups remains limited. Neurodiverse individuals, such as those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), may exhibit unique challenges in interpreting visual cues. Participants are aged between 5-15 years and are required to respond to videos of the McGurk Effect. Simultaneously, parents were asked to respond to a survey eliciting their views on their child’s perception abilities. Results anticipated include a variation of responses between neurotypical and neurodiverse children and possible discrepancies between parental reports and McGurk effect performance.