Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Autism, Pragmatic language, Social skills'

Let’s imagine a typical word-learning scenario. A toddler sits in her highchair in the kitchen and waits for her lunch. Her mother says: “Use a spoon to eat your meal”. Several objects are placed in front of the child. She can see a dish with her lunch, a spoon, a cup, a sugar bowl, a milk jar, her mother’s plate and a second cup. All these objects, present in the visual array, must be identified by the toddler; she must also parse the auditory stream into segments and determine which words are familiar and which ones are potentially new. If the child does not know the word “spoon”, she will need to use the event of naming of this referent by her mother to adjust her attention to the relevant referent. She also needs to update her representation of this word upon hearing it in different contexts with different speakers and, perhaps, different types of spoons. Efficient attention allocation in this word-learning situation will clearly contribute to the success of mapping; the degree of encoding of the word-form and of its meaning will certainly influence whether this word enters the child’s vocabulary.The complexity of such a typical scenario seems very challenging for a toddler whose cognitive resources are still far from being fully mature. Unsurprisingly, several accounts of how toddlers manage to solve this task are currently on the market. The problem of ambiguity associated with meaning-to-referent mapping (several objects co-presented in the visual scene) and with word form-to-meaning mapping (the correct word is to be singled out among phonological competitors) might be even more challenging for children who present an atypical developmental trajectory.Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and toddlers at risk for the disorder were found to acquire their vocabularies at a slower rate than their typically developing peers. In the contemporary literature, this delay in lexical knowledge acquisition is associated with poor socio-pragmatic understanding that presumably limits children’s capacity to establish referents for words in social contexts. Since impaired understanding of social interaction is a core characteristic of the cognitive profile of individuals with ASD, such an explanation of the delay in language development seems very plausible. However, several other theoretical accounts hold that in typical development socio-pragmatic skills emerge, bottom-up, through more domain-general processing of interactional experiences. In line with the latter views, it can be hypothesized that delays in lexical acquisition in ASD are not directly linked to poor socio-pragmatic understanding but are caused by low-level deficits and atypical attention allocation during word learning.Research programs on lexical learning and processing in ASD thus face the existence of different, contradictory theories of first language acquisition in typical development. Deciding a priori to build one’s experimental study against this or that theoretical background carries the risk of a limited interpretation of experimental results. A more promising way to deal with the variety of available theories of language acquisition is rather to directly confront the existing paradigms and to plan the study design in accordance. This is the approach that I privilege here. In the studies presented within this thesis, I question how social cues are used to resolve ambiguity in meaning during word-learning tasks (chapter 1) and during referential processing in typically developing children (chapter 2) and in children with ASD (chapter 3). Not only do I attempt to compare the use of social cues in word-learning and of perspectival information in referential processing in children with and without ASD, but I also try to link these results with two opposing theoretical views: the one that postulates early reliance on socio-pragmatic understanding and the other that conceives of word-learning as not being necessarily grounded in social understanding. In Chapter 1, I present evidence that children with ASD, children with SLI and typically developing children learn novel words in a flexible way by selectively attending to mappings offered by previously accurate speakers. However, I also show that such learning is likely to be supported by a surface trait attribution mechanism, rather than by genuine socio-pragmatic understanding: children in both clinical groups fail to learn selectively, when learning requires genuinely building a model of the speakers’ epistemic states. Chapters 2 and 3 are devoted to referential communication. I adopt several analytical and methodological modifications to existing methods, which allows me to compare two different aspects of partner-dependent processing of referential precedents. Typically developing children can be expected to recognize precedents previously established with the same partner faster, because of an automatic priming mechanism. However, potential faster processing of broken precedents with a new partner could not be explained by a low-level memory mechanism and would strongly suggest that lexical processing is influenced by expectations about the child’s partner perspective. I present evidence that children with and without ASD do not spontaneously rely on common ground during referential processing and that partner-specific effects in processing are associated with low-level priming. In chapter 3, I report evidence of impaired ability to switch between different conceptual perspectives in children with ASD, which may lead to maladaptive behavior in communication. In the last chapter of this thesis, I explore how word form-to-meaning ambiguity is resolved in children with ASD and whether these children exhibit difficulty in correctly mapping similar-sounding novel words. The results of this study suggest that lexical activation in children with ASD may be impaired and they display deficits in suppressing phonological competitors. Taken together, the results presented in this doctoral dissertation suggest that delays in word acquisition in ASD are likely to be driven by deficits in domain-general cognitive development. Even though impaired socio-cognitive understanding may lead to difficulties in discourse and pragmatics in older children, delayed access to lexical meaning in young children with ASD is likely to be associated with disruptions in domain-general mechanisms of perception, attention and memory.
Doctorat en Langues, lettres et traductologie
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The goal of the current study was to investigate the social skills of a community sample of children that would vary in their level of ADHD symptomatology (e.g., inattention and hyperactivity), with a specific focus on their communication patterns and pragmatic language use (PLU). The study explored whether PLU was associated with, and perhaps accounted for, the social skills problems children with different degrees of ADHD symptomatology experience. Pragmatic language use, ADHD symptomatology, and social skills were examined with traditional standardized measures as well as a detailed investigation of communication patterns and PLU obtained from sampling behaviors from a semi-structured dyadic communication task. A community sample of 54 children between the ages of 9 and 11 years participated. Pragmatic language use partially mediated the relation between ADHD symptomatology and social skills. These results indicate that although the correlation between ADHD and social skills drops from r = -.649, p < .01 to r = -.478, p < .01, when PLU is entered in the model, the correlation between ADHD and social skills still remains significant. Further, ADHD symptomatology and PLU both predicted social skills scores, and although ADHD symptomatology and PLU were related to one another, PLU provided a unique contribution in the estimate of children’s social skills of 10.5% above and beyond the contribution of ADHD symptomatology. However, ADHD symptomatology was the most influential predictor in uniquely accounting for approximately 19% of the differences in social skills outcomes above and beyond the contribution of PLU. Possible explanations as to why PLU mediates the relation between ADHD symptomatology and social skills are discussed. Implications and future research are discussed in terms of children with ADHD and peer relations.

The present study assessed the effects of differential language (English vs. heritage language) social skills in bilingual children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Four bilingual children with ASD (three Korean-American, and one Latino-American) participated in this study. Baseline consisted of 5-minute free-play sessions conducted in English. Intervention consisted of two alternating conditions: 5-minute play sessions conducted either in English or in the participant’s heritage language. A play-related instruction, contextually appropriate comment, and verbal praise were made every 30s during intervention. Dependent measures were play and social verbal behavior. Results demonstrated that participants displayed more play behaviors in heritage than English language sessions. No clear differences were found for social verbal behavior. Results are discussed in terms of the potential that the use of heritage language has in enhancing social skills interventions for children with ASD.

Some children have difficulty communicating due to a lack of age-appropriate language and social skills. Researchers have explored how music and language share features that shape language processing. The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological analysis was to explore the experiences of caregivers of preschool children who participated in a music-based program and to understand their perspectives related to children's language and social skill development. Learning style and sensory integration processing theories were used as framework to provide foundations of skills in this study. Research questions addressed caregivers' choices related to this program for their children, their experiences of their children's participation in the program, and how the caregivers perceive their children's language and social skills change as they participated in the program. Data from 8 participants were collected using narrative journals and interviews and were analyzed by identifying relationships and themes. Identified themes included the importance of choice of quality music program, improved language skills, improved social skills, and improvement in other areas. Caregivers reported that their children's language and social skills developed in the early weeks of participation in The Listening Program. Primary recommendations included providing opportunities to educate other parents and professionals about the benefits of music-based programs. Contributions to positive social change include the value of music-based programs as a complementary technique to aid language and social skill development in preschool aged children, and that children who participate become more effective communicators and interact more appropriately with others.

Naturalistic behavioral interventions increase the acquisition, generalization, and maintenance of child social communication skills among children with developmental delays (DD). Teaching Assistants (TAs) are ideal interventionists for delivering social communication interventions because of the significant amount of time they spend working directly with children with DD in the preschool classroom. However, professional development for TAs is often inadequate and there has been a limited amount of research in this area. In addition, TAs are often working with more than one child at a time with varying skill levels, but no research has been conducted on the use of strategies with more than one child at a time. The current single-case research study addresses gaps in the literature by answering the following questions: (1) Is there a functional relation between coaching TAs to use EMT and increases in TA’s fidelity of implementation of EMT with a child dyad?; (2) Is there a functional relation between TA’s use of EMT and increases in child social communication skills?; and (3) Are TAs able to generalize the use of EMT across students with varying social communication skills and goals? Results suggest coaching TAs contributes to increases in fidelity of implementation of EMT strategies and subsequent increases in child social communication skills. TAs were able to generalize the use of EMT across students.

Crianças com Distúrbio Específico de Linguagem (DEL) podem apresentar dificuldades de recepção e emissão da linguagem que podem trazer prejuízos na sua interação com outras crianças, familiares e sociedade uma vez que estudos relatam a importância social da comunicação como um veículo de extensas redes de trocas sociais, pelas quais se forma e se transforma a cultura e, em consequência a própria realidade social. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar as habilidades comunicativas de seis crianças com DEL, na faixa etária entre sete e oito anos e onze meses e comparar com crianças com desenvolvimento típico pertencentes ao grupo controle (GC), pareado por idade e gênero. A investigação compreendeu: (i) a avaliação do período da narrativa oral com quatro figuras de sequência lógico temporal e (ii) avaliação do desempenho em habilidades sociais comunicativas (HSC) por meio da analise de filmagens de situações estruturadas entre cada criança com DEL e seu respectivo par do GC e entre cada criança com DEL e um adulto do gênero feminino. Como resultado, todas as crianças com DEL apresentaram déficits nas HSC tanto nas interações com seus pares quanto com o adulto e cinco delas mostraram desempenho narrativo abaixo do esperado em relação ao GC, o que evidencia prejuízo nas interações sociais desses indivíduos. O estudo permitiu caracterizar e identificar necessidades especiais relacionadas ao repertório social e comportamental, mas são necessários novos estudos sobre protocolos de avaliação e intervenção que tenham como meta tanto a melhoria nos aspectos de fala e linguagem quanto nas relações interpessoais das crianças com DEL.
Children with Specific Language Impairment ( SLI ) may present difficulties in receiving and issuing of language that can bring harm in their interaction with other children , family and society as social studies report the importance of communication as a vehicle for extensive exchange networks social and shape by which the culture is transformed and therefore social reality . The aim of this study was to investigate the communicative abilities of six children with SLI , aged between seven and eight years and eleven months and compared with typically developing children in the control group ( CG) , matched for age and gender . The investigation included: ( i ) assessing the period of oral narrative with four figures logical temporal sequence and ( ii ) assessing performance in communicative social skills ( HSC ) through the analysis of shooting situations structured between each child with SLI and its respective pair of the GC and between each child with SLI and an adult female . As a result , all children with SLI showed deficits in HSC both in interactions with their peers and with adult and five of them showed narrative performance below expectations compared to GC , which show impaired social interactions of these individuals . The study allowed us to characterize and identify special needs related to social and behavioral repertoire , but further studies are needed on protocols for assessment and intervention that have as a goal the improvement in both aspects of speech and language and interpersonal relationships of children with SLI .

This study examined the efficacy of a social skills training program on the use of validating comments and negative comments by children with specific language impairment. The present study is an extension of a previous research project. Four children (three female, one male) with specific language impairment, ages 6 to 11, participated in a ten week social skills training program which involved direct instruction of target concepts, peer interactions with classmates, and evaluation of the use of target skills by reviewing videotaped peer interactions. The individual performance of each subject was compared to the age- and gender-matched typical peers with whom they interacted during the weekly game sessions of the intervention program. The intervention program was successful in improving the use of validating comments for three of the four subjects (AA, CS, and JH). The subjects' increased use of validating comments, however, did not appear to significantly affect or change the participants' use of negative comments. It was also found that, while individual performance improved, three of the four participants (AA, MD, and CS) consistently produced fewer validating comments than did their typical peers during the weekly game sessions. Follow-up data for the participants indicated that the three participants (AA, CS, and JH) who showed improvement in their use of validating comments over the course of treatment appeared to maintain their increased skill after the treatment ended. Possible explanations for these results are discussed, and recommendations are made for future social skills training programs.

The research demonstrates that music therapy is an effective tool in the area of communication and behavior with children with autism and children with other learning disabilities. The hypothesis of this thesis predicted that music would enhance communication and decrease inappropriate behaviors. Qualitative data were gathered from interviews with music therapists and observations of students diagnosed with autism and other disabilities including attention deficit disorder, cerebral palsy, Down's syndrome, and other levels of mental retardation. Results supported the hypothesis and also supported the research in the literature that music lowered the anxiety levels in all individuals, resulting in increased learning.

Cette thèse a pour objectif d’investiguer le développement social et langagier des enfants et adolescents présentant un TSA à travers l’étude des aspects non-littéraux du langage. Notre première étude explore les trajectoires développementales des processus inférentiels sociaux et langagiers sous-tendant la compréhension de cette dimension implicite du langage, ainsi que leurs facteurs prédictifs. Cette étude longitudinale a été menée auprès de 12 enfants et adolescents avec un TSA comparativement à leurs témoins. Notre seconde étude concerne l’élaboration et l’évaluation d’un groupe d’entraînement aux habiletés sociales (GEHS) pour quatre adolescents porteurs d’un TSA. Cet accompagnement a été pensé comme une piste de remédiation aux difficultés inférentielles sociales et langagières présentées par les personnes avec un TSA. Plutôt qu’un déficit global stable, les résultats de la première étude mettent en avant une altération partielle et évolutive des capacités inférentielles chez les participants avec un TSA. Concernant les facteurs prédictifs explorés (âge chronologique, niveau langagier, fonctions exécutives), les performances de tous les participants sont associées à l’âge chronologique. Parmi les fonctions exécutives, seule la mémoire de travail apparaît comme un facteur prédictif, et uniquement pour les participants avec un TSA. Concernant notre seconde étude, nos résultats mettent en évidence l’effet bénéfique du GEHS mis en place pour les quatre adolescents ayant participé. Nos travaux ouvrent des perspectives en termes d’évaluation et de remédiation pour favoriser le développement des capacités inférentielles chez les personnes avec un TSA
The aim of this thesis is to investigate the social and language development of children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) through the study of the non-literal aspects of language. Our first study explores the developmental trajectories of the social and language inferential processes underlying the understanding of this implicit dimension of language, as well as their predictive factors. This longitudinal study involved 12 children and adolescents with ASDs compared to their controls. Our second study involved the development and evaluation of a social skills training group (SSTG) for four adolescents with ASDs. This support was designed to address the social and language difficulties of people with ASD. Rather than a stable global deficit, the results of the first study highlight a partial and progressive alteration of the inferential capacities of the participants with an ASD. Regarding the predictive factors explored (chronological age, language level, executive functions), the performance of all participants was associated with chronological age. Among executive functions, only working memory appears as a predictive factor, and only for participants with an ASD. Concerning our second study, our results highlight the beneficial effect of the SSTG implemented for the four adolescents who participated. Our work opens perspectives in terms of evaluation and remediation to promote the development of inferential capacities in people with an ASD

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized a core triad of symptoms: impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests (APA, 2000). Impairments in social development, however, have been considered the most salient and handicapping aspect of ASD and, traditionally, the primary deficit from which the diagnosis results. From a cognitive standpoint, it has been argued that these social impairments in individuals with ASDs arise as a result of deficits in Theory of Mind (ToM) development. The degree to which impairment in ToM corresponds to real-world social-communicative impairments has received little attention, however. The purpose of this study was to determine whether ToM and pragmatic language skills discriminated between adolescents with ASD and typically developing, age-matched comparison participants. The study also attempted to explore the relationships between ToM, pragmatic language, and social skills and test the model that pragmatic language mediates the relationship between ToM and social skills. Results indicated that ToM significantly predicted pragmatic language skills and that pragmatic language skills, and not ToM, significantly discriminated between adolescents with ASD (N = 10) and typically developing comparison participants (N = 10). The mediation model above was not supported by regression analysis; however, the results do provide some insight into the relationships between ToM, pragmatic language, and social skills. Implications of these findings, limitations of the study, and recommendations for future research were discussed.
School of Education
School Psychology
PhD
Dissertation

Identifying useful strategies for teaching children with autism to use social language with their peers is a challenge for professionals designing treatment programs. Previous research has documented that video modeling can be effective in teaching children with autism a variety of skills; however, the methods utilized have not demonstrated great success in teaching complex social language use with peers. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of video modeling for teaching a child with autism to use social language with a typical peer during play. Specifically, the study included the use of multiple response exemplars (i.e., multiple video vignettes as models) for promoting unscripted and generative social language with peers. The results provide suggestive evidence that experimental control was demonstrated using a multiple baseline design across three play activities. The video modeling intervention was effective in increasing social language in two of the three activities. Video feedback and prompting were required in the third activity in order for a stable rate of increased language to occur. The results are discussed with reference to previous research, future directions, and implications for practice.