Pragmatic Language Deficits and Autism

Many children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) struggle with social skills and communication. One of the areas of struggle is pragmatic language. Pragmatic language refers to the social, emotional, and communicative use of language, including the ability to use language in various social contexts appropriately. A lack of pragmatic language skills can hinder their ability to interact with others effectively.

Language and communication development begins early, in the preverbal stages. So, when a child is diagnosed with autism, it’s essential to start pragmatic language intervention early. Pragmatic language difficulties can manifest in various ways in individuals with ASD. For example, they may have difficulty initiating and maintaining conversations, understanding social cues, and interpreting nonverbal languages such as facial expressions and body language. They may also struggle with using appropriate tone of voice, volume, and inflection when speaking.

These challenges can make it difficult for individuals with ASD to form and maintain social relationships and hinder their academic and professional success. However, with appropriate support and intervention, individuals with ASD can improve their pragmatic language skills and enhance their social interactions.

“A systematic review of pragmatic language interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder” looked at 15 intervention studies and found three intervention types to be the most effective. The most effective interventions for pragmatic language development were early intervention in preschool children and younger, which focused on language development and function language use, and interventions that included parents or caregivers. Group interventions also proved effective.

Early Intervention

A large percentage of children with ASD are non- or minimally verbal. Those that are verbal still need an understanding of pragmatic language in the communication, social, emotional, and behavioral aspects. Language begins to develop in the preverbal stages. We look for joint attention and gestures in babies to help gauge development. Therefore, it is appropriate to start pragmatic language development in the 0-5 age group to help develop functional language use (27).

If a child is older and has yet to develop crucial pragmatic language skills, it is appropriate to adapt interventions for younger children.

Parent Participation

Interventions that combined treatment of the child with parent education or coaching were very effective. This can occur in the home or in a clinic setting as long as what is taught can be applied to the child’s daily routine. This is effective because it allows the parent or caregiver to provide early intervention in various environments and situations (30).

Group Interventions

Finally, group interventions were found to be more effective than one-on-one interventions. This makes sense as group interventions provide opportunities for social interaction with peers, which can only be mirrored in one-on-one settings. In addition, this allows for the generalization of the skills and interactions with peers of similar ages. 

• Source

  Parsons, L., Cordier, R., Munro, N., Joosten, A., & Speyer, R. "A Systematic Review of Pragmatic Language Interventions for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder." PLoS ONE 12, no. 4 (2017): e0172242. Accessed June 7, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0172242.