Pragmatic and Language Abilities in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate pragmatic and language abilities, in general, in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD is not primarily a language disorder and language impairments or delays are no longer considered core characteristics of the condition. Instead, ASD mainly affects pragmatic abilities. In the current study, three high-functioning Greek-speaking individuals with ASD (ages 9, 11, and 15) were tested using picture-based tasks from the diagnostic evaluation of language variation (DELV). The results showed variations in their performance and developmental differences. The younger participant faced challenges in morphosyntactic abilities, possibly related to a comorbid language disorder rather than ASD-specific difficulties. The findings are discussed in light of three theoretical perspectives: theory of mind, executive functions, and weak central cohesion.