Research Summary

1. The Development of Contingent Discourse Ability Autistic Childrenby Helen Tager-Flusberg and Marcia Anderson

2. Research Summary • Primary area of language dysfunction- Pragmatic or functional uses in a social context. • Research carried out to identify more precisely the particular aspects of pragmatic functioning that are impaired in autism • Confirmed the Down syndrome children were more contingent in their speech than children with autism • Advances in structural aspects of language are not paralleled by advances in discourse abilities for children with autism

3. Social Language Use- Pragmatics • Three major communication skills: • Using language for different purposes, such as • greeting (e.g.,  hello, goodbye) • informing (e.g., I'm going to get a cookie) • demanding (e.g., Give me a cookie) • promising (e.g., I'm going to get you a cookie) • requesting (e.g., I would like a cookie, please) • Changing language according to the needs of a listener or situation, such as • talking differently to a baby than to an adult • giving background information to an unfamiliar listener • speaking differently in a classroom than on a playground • Following rules for conversations and storytelling, such as • taking turns in conversation • introducing topics of conversation • staying on topic • rephrasing when misunderstood • how to use verbal and noverbal signals • how close to stand to someone when speaking • how to use facial expressions and eye contact

4. Theory of Mind and Contingent Discourse • Impairment in acquiring a ToM link the social, cognitive and language deficits • Children with autism wouldn’t be able to appreciate that different people have different information or knowledge- the main difference between children with down syndrome and autism during the research • Show impairments in acquiring the conceptual understanding of mental states in themselves and other people

5. Sources • http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/Pragmatics.htm