Structure and Meaning in Mathematics: Divergent Roles of Syntax and Meaning-Based Language in Autism

Mathematical reasoning in adolescence relies on higher order language abilities, yet little is known about how specific language domains support mathematical performance in autistic adolescents, especially in morphologically rich languages such as Hebrew. This study examined the roles of syntax and pragmatics in mathematical performance among Hebrew-speaking autistic and typically developing (TD) adolescents.

Participants were 67 adolescents (31 autistic, 36 TD; ages 12-19). Syntax and pragmatics were independently coded from a Definition Task, and mathematics was assessed across procedural thinking, arithmetic comprehension, and algebraic technique. Because groups differed in morphology, this variable was entered as a covariate. Group differences were examined using ANCOVA and mean-rank ANCOVA. Spearman correlations tested within-group associations, and moderation analyses assessed whether group affiliation moderated language-mathematics relationships.

Autistic adolescents performed significantly lower than TD peers in procedural thinking, algebraic technique, and total mathematics, whereas syntax and pragmatic definition scores did not differ once morphology was controlled. Among TD adolescents, syntactic ability was positively associated with all mathematical measures. In contrast, among autistic adolescents, pragmatic ability-but not syntax-was positively associated with mathematical performance. Moderation analyses confirmed that the strength of language-mathematics associations differed by group.

Language supports mathematical reasoning in adolescence, but the relevant pathways differ across developmental profiles. TD adolescents appear to rely primarily on syntactic-structural processing, whereas autistic adolescents rely more on meaning-based pragmatic abilities. These findings highlight the importance of examining specific language domains rather than composite scores and support tailoring mathematics instruction to the linguistic strengths of autistic learners.