DEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE PRAGMATIC COMPETENCE IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDER AND FUNCTIONAL LANGUAGE

Abstract

Among the aspects of altered social behavior in people with autism spectrum disorder and functional language (ASD grade 1, also diagnosed as Asperger syndrome), pragmatic competence is one of the most studied. However, there is a lack of empirical work on the possible improvement of problematic communicative aspects in relation with evolutionary development and communicative praxis. The objective of this research is to review the most common pragmatic deficits in children and adolescents with ASD and functional language and to verify whether the practice of social use of language can imply an improvement in their pragmatic competence. To carry out this research, data was collected through a questionnaire of 26 questions among 110 parents of children and young people aged between 6 and 18 years diagnosed with ASD grade 1. The results confirm, in line with previous works, which are the most problematic aspects of pragmatic competence in these children and adolescents -associated with the understanding and expression of communicative intention, conversational dynamics, non-verbal communication and the understanding of figurative language-, at the same time that they reveal that some of the altered skills can be acquired or improved over the years. The study also confirms the fact that the acquisition or improvement of certain skills does not guarantee that they can be put into practice in all contexts, given the difficulties in generalizing learning that people with ASD present.