Use of context in pragmatic language comprehension by children with Asperger Syndrome or High-Functioning autism

Loukusa, S., Leinonen, E., Kuusikko, S., Jussila, K., Mattila, M-L, Ryder, N., Ebeling, H. and Moilanen, I. (2007) Use of context in pragmatic language comprehension by children with Asperger Syndrome or High-Functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37 (6). pp. 1049-1059.

Abstract

Utilizing relevance theory, this study investigated the ability of children with Asperger syndrome (AS) and high-functioning autism (HFA) to use context when answering questions and when giving explanations for their correct answers. Three groups participated in this study: younger AS/HFA group (age 7–9, n = 16), older AS/HFA group (age 10–12, n = 23) and a normally functioning control group (age 7–9, n = 23). The results indicated that the younger AS/HFA group did less well when answering contextually demanding questions compared to the control group, and the performance of the older AS/HFA group fell in between the younger AS/HFA group and the control group. Both AS/HFA groups had difficulties explaining their correct answers, suggesting that they are not always aware of how they have derived answers from the context.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publisher:	Springer
Copyright:	© 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/34771

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