Examined imitation and pantomime abilities in 17 high-functioning adolescents with autism and in 15 comparison subjects with dyslexia or other learning disorders, matched on chronological age and verbal IQ. Found no support for the symbolic deficit hypothesis; meaning aided, rather than hindered, the performance of the group with autism. (MDM)

Two studies examined the progress in normally developing preschoolers' ability to produce actions with imagined objects (pantomimes). Found that young children not only had difficulty producing imaginary object representations in contrast to normal adults, they also had difficulty comprehending imaginary object representations and were better at…