A Comparative Analysis of Social (Pragmatic) Communication Skills in Students with High-Functioning Autism and Pragmatic Language Impairment Using Video-Based Assessments

Abstract

Social communication deficits are becoming more evident and better understood as our awareness, diagnosis, and treatment advance. Additionally, social language difficulties related to Autism Spectrum Disorder are becoming more distinguished and better understood. The current study aims to evaluate six key pragmatic language constructs introduced by The Clinical Assessment of Pragmatics and comparatively analyse these six constructs in three groups - adolescents who present as: typically developing, present with pragmatic language impairment, and present with high functioning autism. The six constructs analysed include: instrumental performance, social context appraisal, paralinguistic decoding, instrumental performance, affective expression, and paralinguistic signals. Results of the current study revealed significant differences across groups of students on receptive and expressive pragmatic language tasks. Students with HFA and PLI demonstrated adequate performance on instrumental in nature tasks such as, demonstrating politeness and requesting for help. As expected, students with HFA and PLI exhibited significant difficulties on higher order pragmatics tasks, such as the use of affective language, perception of irony, expression of sorrow, and demonstration of support. The key findings of the current study revealed that there are three constructs that could differentiate the understanding, assessment, and treatment of social language in students with PLI vs. HFA. Students with PLI and HFA may differ in their understanding and use of the skills in the following constructs: Social Context Appraisal, Paralinguistic Decoding, and Paralinguistic Cues.