The pausative pattern of speakers with and without high-functioning autism spectrum disorder from long silences

This study aims to accomplish the functional and positional analysis of long silences – single, double or triple – in the oral productions of 20 speakers with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder and 20 typically-developing speakers. Thus, a pausative pattern, which combines different quantitative measures, is proposed for speakers with this disorder. Different comparisons showed homogeneity in the relative average between the word quantity and the number of long pauses in oral interactions of both groups. Finally, the excess of long internal shared pauses that are produced by speakers with high-functioning autism due to comprehension problems or lack of attention during dialogue is significant.

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‘Just trying to talk to people … It’s the hardest’: Perspectives of adolescents with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder on their social communication skills

Child Language Teaching and Therapy ◽

10.1177/0265659018806754 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

pp. 319-334 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Rachel Kelly ◽

Mary-Pat O’Malley ◽

Stanislava Antonijevic

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Communication Skills ◽

Social Communication ◽

High Functioning Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Typically Developing ◽

High Functioning ◽

Social Communication Skills ◽

Increased Risk

Difficulty with social communication is the most pervasive difficulty experienced by individuals with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HF-ASD). Communication difficulties are often magnified in adolescence as social demands become more intricate. This puts adolescents with HF-ASD at increased risk of social isolation and depression, as they have difficulty developing positive social identity. Yet, there is a dearth of literature addressing the communication issues of this population and even fewer studies including the voice of adolescents with HF-ASD themselves. This study aimed to (1) explore the perspectives of adolescents with HF-ASD as to their social communication skills, (2) explore what (if any) difficulties they perceive themselves as having when talking with their peers, (3) explore if they would like help with social communication skills and (4) determine what kind of help they think may be useful to them and establish if they already use self-initiated strategies. This study was qualitative in nature, using thematic analysis to analyse data collected from 10 semi-structured interviews with 5 adolescents with HF-ASD. Qualitative research underpins the idea that one must understand the significance and explanation that people give to situations, experiences, their own actions and to the actions of others, for one to comprehend human behaviours and actions. A qualitative design allowed us to gain the most in depth insight into how adolescents with HF-ASD understand and perceive their experiences. Three themes emerged revealing the participants’ perceptions of their difficulties communicating, challenging feelings that they experience about communication, and their perspectives about the support for developing communication skills. The participants indicated a need for support to aid their desire to improve communication skills and interactions with typically developing peers. In educational settings, adolescents with HF-ASD may benefit from a peer mentor system to give them opportunities to practice social communication skills with typically developing peers and to encourage inclusion amongst their classmates.

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