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Different Factors Predict Idiom Comprehension in Children and Adolescents with ASD and Typical Development

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Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with deficient comprehension of figurative language and, specifically, idioms. Theories ascribe this to deficits in specific abilities (e.g., Theory of Mind [ToM]; executive functions [EF]; general language skills), but no comprehensive theory has resulted. This study investigated the differential contribution of various abilities to idiom comprehension among children and adolescents with ASD compared to matched controls with typical development (TD). The TD group outperformed the ASD group in idiom comprehension. However, whereas EF predicted idiom comprehension in the TD group, vocabulary predicted idiom comprehension in the ASD group. Our findings emphasize the link between general language competence and figurative language comprehension in ASD and point to different processing mechanisms in each group.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Shira Chana Bienstock for her thorough editorial and scientific review of this manuscript.

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  1. Ronit Saban-Bezalel

    Present address: Department of Communication Disorders, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The School of Education, Bar Ilan University, 5290002, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Ronit Saban-Bezalel & Nira Mashal

  2. Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University, 5290002, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Nira Mashal

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  1. Ronit Saban-Bezalel
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Correspondence to Nira Mashal.

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Research Involving Human and Animal Participants

Research involving human participants was conducted under the appropriate institutional ethics committee approval of [masked for revision] University as well the [masked for revision] Ministry of Education. Prior to their children’s participation in the study, all parents received an explanation of the study, and provided signed informed consent. The study was also explained to the children, whose assent to participation was solicited and received. Participant confidentiality and data privacy were protected as required by ethical guidelines and practices.

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Saban-Bezalel, R., Mashal, N. Different Factors Predict Idiom Comprehension in Children and Adolescents with ASD and Typical Development. J Autism Dev Disord 49, 4740–4750 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04193-9

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