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Story Recall and Narrative Coherence of High-Functioning Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Previous research has found few quantitative differences between children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and well-matched controls in the length, complexity, and structure of their narratives. Researchers have noted, however, that narratives of children with ASDs have an unusual and idiosyncratic nature. This study provides an analysis of narratives in 17 children with high-functioning ASDs and 17 typically developing children matched on age, gender, language abilities, and cognitive abilities. We examined story recall and narrative coherence. The study revealed no group differences in story length or syntactic complexity. Children with ASDs also did not differ from controls in their use of the gist of a story to aid recall, or in their sensitivity to the importance of story events. Children with ASDs did, however, produce narratives that were significantly less coherent than the narratives of controls. Children with ASDs appeared less likely to use the gist of the story to organize their narratives coherently. These findings are discussed with regard to their relationship to other cognitive and linguistic difficulties of children with ASDs.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was supported by NIH P01 HD35466 grant, a Collaborative Program of Excellence in Autism. We thank Melissa Dupere for her help with coding. We also thank the families who participated in this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical & Social Sciences in Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, RC Box 270266, USA

    Joshua J. Diehl & Loisa Bennetto PhD

  2. Department of Surgery, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA

    Edna Carter Young

Authors
  1. Joshua J. Diehl
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  2. Loisa Bennetto PhD
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  3. Edna Carter Young
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Loisa Bennetto PhD.

APPENDIX A: ORIGINAL VERBAL STORY

APPENDIX A: ORIGINAL VERBAL STORY

  1. 1.

    There once was a boy named Tom

  2. 2.

    Who had a pet frog

  3. 3.

    He kept it in a large jar

  4. 4.

    One night while he and his dog were sleeping

  5. 5.

    The frog climbed out of the jar

  6. 6.

    He leapt through an open window

  7. 7.

    When Tom woke up

  8. 8.

    He leaned over his bed

  9. 9.

    To say good morning to the frog

  10. 10.

    But the frog was gone

  11. 11.

    Tom looked everywhere for the frog

  12. 12.

    And the dog looked for him too

  13. 13.

    Tom called out the window

  14. 14.

    When the dog looked in the jar

  15. 15.

    He got his head caught

  16. 16.

    And so when he leaned out the window

  17. 17.

    The heavy jar made him fall

  18.   (a)

    the dog fell out the window

  19.   (b)

    the heavy jar made him fall

  20. 18.

    And the jar broke

  21. 19.

    Tom picked him up

  22. 20.

    To see if he was okay

  23. 21.

    And the dog licked him

  24. 22.

    For being so nice

  25. 23.

    All day long Tom called for the frog

  26. 24.

    He called down holes

  27. 25.

    But Gopher got angry at Tom

  28. 26.

    for disturbing him

  29. 27.

    And while Tom was calling for the frog in a tree hole

  30. 28.

    The dog was getting into more trouble

  31. 29.

    He barked at some bees

  32. 30.

    And jumped at a tree where their bees nest was hanging

  33. 31.

    And the bee's nest fell down

  34. 32.

    The angry bees chased the dog

  35. 33.

    And an angry owl came out of the tree hole

  36. 34.

    To scold Tom

  37. 35.

    It scared him

  38. 36.

    The owl screeched at him

  39. 37.

    To stay away from his home

  40. 38.

    Next Tom climbed a big rock

  41. 39.

    And called again

  42. 40.

    He leaned on some branches

  43. 41.

    To see better

  44. 42.

    But the branches began to move

  45. 43.

    And carry him into the air

  46. 44.

    They weren't branches

  47. 45.

    They were a deer's antlers

  48. 46.

    And the deer ran with Tom on his head

  49. 47.

    The dog ran along too

  50. 48.

    Barking at the deer

  51. 49.

    The deer stopped quickly at the edge of a cliff

  52. 50.

    And threw Tom over the edge

  53. 51.

    And he and the dog fell into a pond

  54. 52.

    Suddenly they both heard something

  55. 53.

    It was a croaking sound

  56. 54.

    And they smiled

  57. 55.

    Tom told the dog to be quiet

  58. 56.

    And they both crept up

  59. 57.

    And looked behind a dead tree

  60. 58.

    There was his frog

  61. 59.

    Sitting proudly with a mother frog

  62. 60.

    And they had eight babies

  63. 61.

    One of the baby frogs leaped forward

  64. 62.

    To greet him

  65. 63.

    He liked Tom

  66. 64.

    And Tom liked him

  67. 65.

    So Tom took the baby frog home

  68. 66.

    To be his new pet

  69. 67.

    And he waved goodbye to his old frog

  70. 68.

    Who now had a family to take care of.

Note. Item 17 is divided into two separate events: the dog falls out the window (17a), the jar caused him to fall (17b). Therefore, with both events counted, there are 69 total events.

figure 3

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Diehl, J.J., Bennetto, L. & Young, E.C. Story Recall and Narrative Coherence of High-Functioning Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Abnorm Child Psychol 34, 83–98 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-005-9003-x

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