Speech Acts During Friends’ and Non-friends’ Spontaneous Conversations in Preschool Dyads with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder versus Typical Development

Abstract

In this study, we videotaped two 10-min. free-play interactions and coded speech acts (SAs) in peer talk of 51 preschoolers (21 ASD, 30 typical), interacting with friend versus non-friend partners. Groups were matched for maternal education, IQ (verbal/nonverbal), and CA. We compared SAs by group (ASD/typical), by partner's friendship status (friend/non-friend), and by partner's disability status. Main results yielded a higher amount and diversity of SAs in the typical than the ASD group (mainly in assertive acts, organizational devices, object-dubbing, and pretend-play); yet, those categories, among others, showed better performance with friends versus non-friends. Overall, a more nuanced perception of the pragmatic deficit in ASD should be adopted, highlighting friendship as an important context for children's development of SAs.

Identifying Childhood Expressive Language Features That Best Predict Adult Language and Communication Outcome in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Each complete, intelligible utterance was given a pragmatic code based on its communicative function. The pragmatic coding scheme was based on Dore (1974), Chapman (1981, as cited in Hoff, 2013), and Bauminger-Zviely et al (2017. The following communicative functions were included for this project: asserting, requesting, information seeking, answering, calling, greeting/politeness forms, protesting, conversational maintenance, dubbing, nonreciprocal/other, and repeating.…”

Mediacion entre iguales, competencia social y percepcion interpersonal de los ninos con TEA en el entorno escolar

“…We found that the boy's likelihood of responding to non-reciprocal friends was significantly greater than his likelihood of responding to friends, and that his responses to non-reciprocal friends and non-friends alike activated joint engagement, whereas responses to friends did not. These results, which are partially consistent with previous findings, highlight the significant friend vs. non-friend differences in the frequency and variety of speech acts (Bauminger et al, 2017). Although non-friend and non-reciprocal friend interactions may be a factor of stress and anxiety and may pose a higher social challenge for children with HFASD than interactions with friends, it is possible that this stress and anxiety could decrease as the relationship develops .…”

“…Although the social interaction of people with autism has been a central area of research in this field for decades , we are still a long way from understanding precisely what these individuals understand by friendship, what conditions are most favorable for children with autism to establish and maintain friendship relations, and what characteristics define these relationships . Most of what we know is based on clinical criteria and evaluations and on the analysis of self-reports and reports by relatives, teachers, or caregivers, and few observational studies have been carried out to date in natural contexts (Bauminger et al, 2008;Bauminger, Golan, & Tubul, 2017).…”

“…Although the verbal and interactive behaviors of children with autism with their friends has been compared with these children's behaviors with their non-friends (i.e. friend vs. nonfriend comparisons) (Bauminger et al, 2017;Bauminger & Agam, 2014), we are unaware of any observational studies carried out in natural contexts that have incorporated the nuance of non-reciprocal friendships (i.e. friend vs. non-reciprocal friend vs. non-friend comparisons).…”

“…Se comprobó que la probabilidad de responder a amigos no recíprocos fue significativamente superior a la de responder a amigos, y tanto las primeras como las respuestas a no amigos activaron la participación activa mientras que las respuestas a amigos no lo hicieron. Estos resultados, consistentes en parte con resultados de otros trabajos, ponen de relieve diferencias significativas en la interacción con amigos frente a no amigos en la frecuencia y variedad actos comunicativos (Bauminger et al, 2017). Aunque las interacciones con no amigos y amigos no recíprocos podrían ser un factor de estrés y ansiedad y pueden suponer un reto mayor para los niños con autismo que las interacciones con amigos, estas dificultades podrían reducirse conforme evoluciona la relación .…”