A significant between‐group difference in MSI was evident in the literature , with individuals with ASD demonstrating worse audiovisual integration on average across studies compared to TD controls .
This effect was moderated by mean participant age , such that between‐group differences were more pronounced in younger sample s. The mean correlation between MSI and autism and related symptomatology was also significant , indicating that increased audiovisual integration in individuals with ASD is associated with better language /communication abilities and /or reduced autism symptom severity in the extant literature .
This effect was moderated by whether the stimuli were linguistic versus non‐linguistic in nature , such that correlation magnitudes tended to be significantly greater when linguistic stimuli were utilized in the measure of MSI .
& NA ; An ever‐growing literature has aim ed to determine how individuals with autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) differ from their typically developing ( TD ) peers on measures of multisensory integration ( MSI ) and to ascertain the degree to which differences in MSI are associated with the broad range of symptoms associated with ASD .
Findings , however , have been highly variable across the studies carried out to date .
The present work systematic ally review s and quantitatively synthesizes the large literature on audiovisual MSI  in individuals with ASD to evaluate the cumulative evidence for ( a ) group differences between individuals with ASD and TD peers , ( b ) correlations between MSI and autism symptoms in individuals with ASD and ( c ) study level factors that may moderate findings ( i.e. , explain differential effects ) observed across studies .
Audiovisual speech integration and lipreading in autism.
BACKGROUND During speech perception , the ability to integrate auditory and visual information causes speech to sound louder and be more intelligible , and leads to quicker processing . This integration is important in early language development , and also continues to affect speech comprehension throughout the lifespan . Previous research shows that individuals with autism have difficulty integrating information , especially across multiple sensory domains . METHODS In the present study ,  audiovisual speech integration  was investigated in 18 adolescents with high-functioning autism and 19 well-matched adolescents with typical development using a speech in noise paradigm .  Speech reception thresholds were calculated for auditory only and audiovisual matched speech , and lipreading ability was measured . RESULTS Compared to individuals with typical development , individuals with autism showed less benefit from the addition of visual information in audiovisual speech perception . We also found that individuals with autism were significantly worse than those in the comparison group at lipreading . Hierarchical regression demonstrated that group differences in the audiovisual condition , while influenced by auditory perception and especially by lipreading , were also attributable to a unique factor , which may reflect a specific deficit in audiovisual integration . CONCLUSIONS Combined deficits in audiovisual speech integration and lipreading in individuals with autism are likely to contribute to ongoing difficulties in speech comprehension , and may also be related to delays in early language development
A significant between‐group difference in MSI was evident in the literature , with individuals with ASD demonstrating worse audiovisual integration on average across studies compared to TD controls .
This effect was moderated by mean participant age , such that between‐group differences were more pronounced in younger sample s. The mean correlation between MSI and autism and related symptomatology was also significant , indicating that increased audiovisual integration in individuals with ASD is associated with better language /communication abilities and /or reduced autism symptom severity in the extant literature .
This effect was moderated by whether the stimuli were linguistic versus non‐linguistic in nature , such that correlation magnitudes tended to be significantly greater when linguistic stimuli were utilized in the measure of MSI .
& NA ; An ever‐growing literature has aim ed to determine how individuals with autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) differ from their typically developing ( TD ) peers on measures of multisensory integration ( MSI ) and to ascertain the degree to which differences in MSI are associated with the broad range of symptoms associated with ASD .
Findings , however , have been highly variable across the studies carried out to date .
The present work systematic ally review s and quantitatively synthesizes the large literature on audiovisual MSI  in individuals with ASD to evaluate the cumulative evidence for ( a ) group differences between individuals with ASD and TD peers , ( b ) correlations between MSI and autism symptoms in individuals with ASD and ( c ) study level factors that may moderate findings ( i.e. , explain differential effects ) observed across studies .