Towards a convergent account of pragmatic language deficits in children with high-functioning autism: Depicting the phenotype using the Pragmatic Rating Scale

Despite its prominence, pragmatic characteristic associated with autism is under-explored and thus was not well defined. The present study attempted to depict a relatively comprehensive profile of language pragmatics in children with high-functioning autism (HFA) using the Pragmatic Rating Scale (PRS). Pragmatic behaviors of 26 HFA children were contrasted with those of their normal counterparts. As predicted, the group with autism demonstrated substantial pragmatic difficulty when compared to their normal counterparts matched stringently on both verbal and non-verbal intelligence. The findings were discussed with relevance to lacking a “theory of mind”, weak central coherence and executive dysfunction.

► We depicted the profile of language pragmatics in children with high-functioning autism (HFA) using the Pragmatic Rating Scale (PRS). ► We found that children with autism demonstrated substantial pragmatic difficulty when compared to their normal counterparts matched on both verbal and non-verbal intelligence. ► The findings were discussed in relation to lacking a “theory of mind”, weak central coherence and executive dysfunction.