Academic Journal
Analysis of Autistic Adolescents' Essays Using Computer Techniques.
| Title: | Analysis of Autistic Adolescents' Essays Using Computer Techniques. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Chojnicka I; Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Stawki 5/7, Warsaw, 00-183, Poland. izabela.chojnicka@psych.uw.edu.pl., Wawer A; Institute of Computer Science, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, 01- 248, Poland. |
| Source: | Journal of autism and developmental disorders [J Autism Dev Disord] 2026 Oct; Vol. 56 (10), pp. 4183-4189. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jul 27. |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: Springer Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 7904301 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1573-3432 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01623257 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Autism Dev Disord Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: <2006- >: New York, NY : Springer Original Publication: New York, Plenum Press. |
| MeSH Terms: | Autistic Disorder*/psychology , Narration* , Writing* , Natural Language Processing*, Humans ; Adolescent ; Female ; Male ; Comprehension |
| Abstract: | Purpose: Challenges associated with narrative discourse remain consistently observable across the entire spectrum of autism. We analyzed written narratives by autistic and non-autistic adolescents and aimed to investigate narrative writing using quantitative computational methods. Methods: We employed Natural Language Processing techniques to compare 333 essays from students in the final eighth grade of primary school: 195 written by autistic and 138 by non-autistic participants. Results: Autistic students used words with a positive emotional polarity statistically less frequently (p < .001), and their stories were less abstract (p < .001) than those written by peers from the non-autistic group. However, autistic adolescents wrote more complex stories in terms of readability than participants from the non-autistic group (p < .001). The writing competencies assessed by teachers did not differ significantly between the two groups. Conclusion: Findings suggest that written narratives by autistic individuals may exhibit characteristics similar to those detected by computational methods in spoken narratives. Collecting data from national exams and its potential usefulness in distinguishing autistic individuals could pave the way for future large-scale and cost-effective epidemiological studies on autism. (© 2024. The Author(s).) |
| Competing Interests: | Declarations. Ethical Approval: The project received approval from the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw. In accordance with local regulations, obtaining written consent regarding anonymized data was not required, so written consent was not sought. The collected data was only analyzed collectively. Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest relevant to the content of this article. |
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| Grant Information: | 2020/39/D/HS6/00809 Narodowe Centrum Nauki; 501-D125-01-1250000 zlec.5011000231, 5011000228 Uniwersytet Warszawski |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Autism; Computational models; Narrative abilities; Natural language processing; Pragmatic language; Sentiment |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20240727 Date Completed: 20260902 Latest Revision: 20260905 |
| Update Code: | 20260905 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13538177 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10803-024-06482-4 |
| PMID: | 39066968 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
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