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One of the most striking features of autism is a reduced motivation for social interaction (Kanner, 1943). The last several decades have seen a tremendous increase in research on the symptomology of autism including emotional regulation, theory of mind, face processing, attachment, and ritualized stereotypic behavior. In addition, one of the core symptoms of autism is reduced or even absent expressive language. Not surprisingly, there is a large literature on the semantic, syntactic and pragmatic characteristics of autism and the broader autism spectrum. Similarly, the efficacy literature on language intervention in autism has been almost exclusively focused on expressive skills (Gillum & Camarata, 2004). Without minimizing the importance of continuing studies of expressive language abilities in autism and in ASD, there are compelling theoretical and clinical rationales for initiating systematic research into the auditory comprehension abilities of children with autism. For example, the majority of epidemiological studies of autism suggest significant weakness in the area of auditory comprehension and longitudinal studies indicate that auditory comprehension is one of strongest predictors of long-term outcomes for these children. The purpose of this presentation will be to present a theoretical framework for studying auditory comprehension in children with autism and for launching systematic intervention studies that focus on improving receptive language skills in this population. Building on the foundational work of Robin Chapman on the systemic developmental impact of language comprehension on broader aspects of child development, the presentation will also include discussion of the relationship between comprehension deficits and the broader symptomology of autism (e.g., reduced motivation for social interaction).
This research has been supported by award number 1R34DC010927-01 from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, award number R324A080143 from the Institute for Educational Sciences and by an endowment from the Scottish Rite Foundation of Nashville.
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