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Conversational Behaviors in Youth with High-functioning ASD and Asperger Syndrome

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Abstract

Twenty-nine youth with autism spectrum disorders and 26 with typical development between 12 and 18 years of age were engaged in structured interviews (ADOS). The interviews were videotaped and rated for atypical conversational behaviors by trained raters, using the Pragmatic Rating Scale (Landa et al. Psychol Med 22:245–254, 1992). The ASD group was divided into AS and HFA/PDD-NOS subgroups. Significant differences were found among groups on approximately one-third of the PRS items. These items involved primarily the management of topics and information, reciprocity, intonation, and gaze management. The only differences to reach significance between the AS and HFA/PDD-NOS group were a greater tendency for overly formal speech on the part of the AS group, and more difficulty with gaze management on the part of the group with HFA/PDD-NOS. The implications of these findings for understanding and treating conversational deficits in ASD are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

Preparation of this paper was supported by Research Grant P01-03008 funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH); by NIH Research Grant U54 MH66494 funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH); the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders; the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; by Research Grant RO1 DC07129 from the NIDCD; by a MidCareer Development grant to Dr. Paul, K24 HD045576 funded by NIDCD; as well as by the National Alliance for Autism Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent Street, New Haven, CT, USA

    Rhea Paul

  2. Yale Child Study Center, 40 Temple St., Suite 6B, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA

    Rhea Paul, Stephanie Miles Orlovski, Hillary Chuba Marcinko & Fred Volkmar

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  2. Stephanie Miles Orlovski
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Correspondence to Rhea Paul.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

Items included in Pragmatic Rating Scale (Landa 2000; Landa et al. 1992)

PRS Items

Pragmatic behaviors

1. Inappropriate/absent greeting

2. Strikingly candid

3. Overly direct or blunt

4. Inappropriately formal

5. Inappropriately informal

6. Overly talkative

7. Irrelevant/inappropriate detail

8. Out of sync content/unannounced topic shifts

9. Confusing accounts

10. Topic preoccupation/perseveration

11. Unresponsive to examiner’s cues

12. Little reciprocal to-and-fro exchange

13. Terse

14. Odd humor

15. Insufficient background information

16. Failure to reference pronouns, terminology

17. Inadequate clarification

18. Vague

Speech/Prosody behaviors

19. Scripted, stereotyped sentences or discourse

20. Awkward expression of ideas

21. Indistinct speech/mispronunciations

22. Rate of speech is too rapid/slow

23. Intonation is unusual

24. Volume is inappropriate (note too loud/soft)

25. Unusual timing of responses, reformulations

26. Unusual rhythm of speech such as stuttering

Paralinguistic behaviors

27. Physical distance

28. Gestures

29. Facial expressions

30. Gaze

  1. Rating scale: 0 = occurs almost never, 1 = occurs sometimes, 2 = occurs almost always, cnr = could not rate, n/o = no opportunity to rate

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Paul, R., Orlovski, S.M., Marcinko, H.C. et al. Conversational Behaviors in Youth with High-functioning ASD and Asperger Syndrome. J Autism Dev Disord 39, 115–125 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0607-1

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