Narrative as a Critical Context for Advanced Language Development in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

PurposeThis review details characteristics of narrative language that make it a critical context for advanced language development in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The nature of narrative as a form of communication is outlined, for both fiction and narratives of personal experience. The literature on narrative ability, assessment, and intervention in children and adolescents with ASD is reviewed, and guidance for clinical work with adolescents with ASD is provided.MethodThis report details the results of a narrative review; the work contextualizes findings related to ASD within the broader context of the nature of narrative and how narrative can pose unique challenges for those with ASD owing to social-cognitive concerns in ASD. The article presents an overview of the literature investigating narrative ability in adolescents and children with ASD, including clinical literature detailing assessment and intervention in this area. Information was organized relative to types of narrative to derive guidelines for best practice.ConclusionsAdvanced narrative language is a critical context for later language development, because of its curricular importance and because it provides a significant context for abstract, advanced linguistic structures, social learning, and perspective taking. Narratives of personal experience are central to interactions in a variety of social contexts. The literature shows weaker literacy abilities, especially in more complex contexts, in children and adolescents with ASD and difficulty relative to controls in telling narratives of personal experience. The clinical literature is sparse regarding narrative intervention for adolescents with ASD, but some guidance from small-scale studies is available.