Word Imageability and Early Noun and Verb Acquisition in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder - Volume 7 - 1–9 - Article

Oct 15, 2026

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The study examines how word imageability and word frequency relate to early noun and verb acquisition in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Secondary analyses used data from 156 children (78 TD, 78 ASD) matched on sex and parent-reported language level. Using MacArthur Bates Communicative Development Inventory measures and hierarchical regression plus F-tests, results show imageability contributes uniquely to expressive vocabulary size, especially for nouns and also for verbs. Findings suggest perceptual-based language processing shifts as vocabulary grows.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background & aims

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Implications

Introduction

Word imageability is associated with expressive vocabulary in children with autism spectrum disorder Autism & Developmental Language Impairments Volume 7: 1–9 © The Author(s) 2022 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/23969415221085827](DOI: 10.1177/23969415221085827)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/23969415221085827)[journals.sagepub.com/home/dli](journals.sagepub.com/home/dli) Kimberly R Lin and Lisa Wisman Weil Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Emerson College, Boston, MA, USA Audrey Thurm National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA Catherine Lord University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA Rhiannon J Luyster Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Emerson College, Boston, MA, USA Abstract Background & aims: Throughout typical development, children prioritize different perceptual, social, and linguistic cues to learn words. The earliest acquired words are often those that are perceptually salient and highly imageable. Imageability, the ease in which a word evokes a mental image, is a strong predictor for word age of acquisition in typically developing (TD) children, independent of other lexicosemantic features such as word frequency. However, little is known about the effects of imageability in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who tend to have differences in linguistic processing and delayed language acquisition compared to their TD peers. This study explores the extent to which imageability and word frequency are associated with early noun and verb acquisition in children with ASD. Methods: Secondary analyses were conducted on previously collected data of 156 children (78 TD, 78 ASD) matched on sex and parent-reported language level. Total expressive vocabulary, as measured by the MacArthur Bates Communicative Development Inventory (MB-CDI), included 123 words (78 nouns, 45 verbs) that overlapped with previously published imageability ratings and word input frequencies. A two-step hierarchical linear regression was used to examine the relationship between word input frequency, imageability, and total expressive vocabulary. An F-test was then used to assess the unique contribution of imageability on total expressive vocabulary when controlling for word input frequency. Results: In both the TD and ASD groups, imageability uniquely explained a portion of the variance in total expressive vocabulary size, independent of word input frequency. Notably, imageability was signiﬁcantly associated with noun vocabulary and verb vocabulary size alone, with imageability explaining a greater portion of the variance in total nouns produced than in total verbs produced. Conclusions: Imageability was identiﬁed as a signiﬁcant lexicosemantic feature for describing expressive vocabulary size in children with ASD. Consistent with literature on TD children, children with ASD who have small vocabularies primarily produce words that are highly imageable. Children who are more proﬁcient word learners with larger vocabularies produce words that are less imageable, indicating a potential shift away from reliance on perceptual-based language processing. This was consistent across both noun and verb vocabularies. Implications: Our ﬁndings contribute to a growing body of literature describing early word learning in children with ASD and provide a basis for exploring the use of multisensory language learning strategies. Keywords Autism, imageability, vocabulary, language acquisition Corresponding author: Kimberly R Lin, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Emerson College, 216 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02116, USA. Email: [krlin011@gmail.com](krlin011@gmail.com) Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 License ([https://creativecommons.or

FAQs

What question does the study address about imageability in ASD?

It explores whether word imageability and word frequency are associated with early noun and verb acquisition in children with ASD, given known differences in linguistic processing and delayed language development.

How were the participants selected and how was vocabulary measured?

Secondary analyses used previously collected data from 156 children (78 TD, 78 ASD) matched on sex and parent-reported language level. Expressive vocabulary was measured with the MacArthur Bates Communicative Development Inventory (MB-CDI), including nouns and verbs.

What did the results show about the role of imageability?

In both TD and ASD groups, imageability uniquely explained variance in expressive vocabulary size independent of word input frequency. Imageability was significantly associated with noun and verb vocabulary size, explaining more variance in nouns than in verbs.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bulrr