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Ontogeny of communicative functions in autism
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
|September 1, 1986
Summary
Traditional research on autistic children often overlooks social context and intentions. New studies using developmental pragmatics reveal a nuanced communicative profile influenced by environment and inherent factors, informing better language interventions.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistics
- Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
Background:
- Autistic children are often stereotyped as noncommunicative.
- Traditional research methods may fail to capture autistic children's communicative intentions and social context.
- A need exists for frameworks that better understand autistic social interaction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent investigations into language and communicative behaviors in autism using a developmental pragmatics framework.
- To propose a model for the development of communicative functions in autistic children.
- To explain the communicative profile associated with autism.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent investigations utilizing a developmental pragmatics framework.
- Analysis of language and communicative behaviors in autistic children.
- Development of a working model for the ontogeny of communicative functions.
Main Results:
- Autism's communicative profile is influenced by both the child's language-learning environment and inherent child factors.
- Developmental pragmatics offers a more insightful approach than traditional methods.
- A proposed model outlines the development of communicative functions in autistic children.
Conclusions:
- Revising research approaches to include child intentions and social context is crucial for understanding autistic communication.
- The communicative profile in autism is multifactorial, involving environmental and individual elements.
- Findings have direct clinical implications for designing effective language intervention programs for autistic children.