Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

The Palgrave Handbook of Child Mental Health pp 350–366Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Name-Calling by a Child with Asperger’s Syndrome

  • Chapter

Abstract

This chapter focuses on one aspect of social interaction that is directly relevant to maintaining friendship, mental health and well-being, and supportive peer relations. The single case study is of a 10-year-old child diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and her use of derogatory address terms, part of a wider pattern of behaviour evident in this child’s interaction that resulted in behaviour that might be thought of as impolite or lacking in restraint. Analysis of these derogatory naming practices throws light on how conversational participants pursue affiliation and intimacy from a perspective of language as action. The chapter contributes to understandings of the difficulty in pinpointing, with precision and with clear evidence, what counts as a ‘social interaction difficulty’ due the context-specific nature of interaction. This chapter responds to the call in the literature on children with Asperger’s syndrome for finer micro-level analysis of social behaviours in naturalistic settings with familiar peers (Macintosh & Dissanayake, 2006; Sterponi, de Kirby, & Shankey, Chapter 15, this volume).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD   239.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-IV-TR) (4th edition). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Attwood, T. (2000). Strategies for improving the social integration of children with Asperger Syndrome. Autism, 4, 85–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bauminger, N., & Kasari, C. (2000). Loneliness and friendship in high-functioning children with autism. Child Development, 71, 447–456.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bauminger, N., Shulman, C., & Agam, C. (2003). Peer interaction and loneliness in high-functioning children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33(5), 489–507.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bellini, S. (2004). Social skill deficits and anxiety in high-functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 19(2), 78–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butler, C., Danby, S., & Emmison, E. (2010). Address terms in turn beginnings: Managing disalignment and disaffiliation in telephone counselling. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 44(4), 338–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chamberlain, B., Kasari, C., & Rotheram-Fuller, E. (2007). Involvement or isolation? The social networks of children with autism in regular classrooms. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37(2), 230–242.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clayman, S. (2010). Address terms in the service of other actions: The case of news interview discourse. Discourse and Communication, 4(2), 1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corsaro, W. A. (1985). Friendship and peer culture in the early years. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

    Google Scholar 

  • Danby, S., & Baker, C. D. (2000). Unravelling the fabric of social order in block area. In S. Hester & D. Francis (Eds.), Local educational order: Ethnomethodological studies of knowledge in action (pp. 91–140). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Diehl, D. S., Lemerise, E. A., Caverly, S. L., Ramsay, S., & Roberts, J. (1998). Peer relations and school adjustment in ungraded primary children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 506–515.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drew, P. (1987). Po-faced receipts of teases. Linguistics, 25, 219–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, J. (2004). Children’s friendships: The beginnings of intimacy. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erwin, P. (1993). Friendship and peer relations in children. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evaldsson, A. C. (2007). Accounting for friendship: Moral ordering and category membership in preadolescent girls’ relational talk. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 40(4), 377–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fine, J., Bartolucci, G., Szatmari, P., & Ginsberg, G. (1994). Cohesive discourse in pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 315–329.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gillberg, C., & Gillberg, C. (1989). Asperger syndrome-some epidemiological considerations: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 30, 631–638.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goodwin, M. H. (1990). He-said-she-said: Talk as social organization among black children. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodwin, M. H. (2007). Occasioned knowledge exploration in family interaction. Discourse and Society, 18(1), 93–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodwin, M. H., & Goodwin, C. (2000). Emotion within situated activity. In A. Duranti & M. Malden (Eds.), Linguistic anthropology: A reader (pp. 239–257). Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Humphrey, N., & Symes, W. (2011). Peer interaction patterns among adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in mainstream school settings. Autism, 14(4), 397–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jefferson, G. (1979). A technique for inviting laughter and its subsequent acceptance/declination. In G. Psathas (Ed.), Everyday language: Studies in ethnomethodology (pp. 79–96). New York: Irvington Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jefferson, G., Sacks, H., & Schegloff, E. (1987). Notes on laughter in the pursuit of intimacy. In G. Button & J. R. E. Lee (Eds.), Talk and social organisation (pp. 152–205). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, C. D., & Schwartz, I. S. (2008). When asking questions is not enough: An observational study of social communication differences in high functioning children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39, 432–443.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Koning, C., & Magill-Evans, J. (2001). Social and language skills in adolescent boys with Asperger syndrome. Autism, 5, 23–36.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kremer-Sadlik, T. (2004). How children with autism and Asperger Syndrome respond to questions: A ‘naturalistic’ theory of mind task. Discourse Studies, 6, 185–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, G. H. (2003). Selecting next speaker: The context-sensitive operation of a context-free organisation. Language in Society, 32, 177–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macintosh, K., & Dissanayake, C. (2006). A comparative study of the spontaneous social interactions of children with high functioning autism and children with Asperger’s disorder. Autism, 10(2), 199–220.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Margalit, M. (1994). Loneliness among children with special needs. New York: Springer Verlag.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Minshew, N., Goldstein, G., & Siegel, D. (1995). Speech and language in high-functioning autistic individuals. Neuropsychology, 9, 255–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muskett, T., Perkins, M., Clegg, J., & Body, R. (2010). Inflexibility as an interactional phenomenon: Using conversation analysis to re-examine a symptom of autism. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 24(1), 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ochs, E., Kremer-Sadlik, T., Gainer Sirota, K., & Solomon, O. (2004). Autism and the social world: An anthropological perspective. Discourse Studies, 6, 147–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ochs, E., & Solomon, O. (2004). Introduction: Discourse and autism. Discourse Studies, 6, 139–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owens, G., Granader, Y., Humphrey, A., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2008). LEGO therapy and the social use of language programme: An evaluation of two social skills interventions for children with high functioning autism and Asperger Syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 1944–1957.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Poynton, C. (1985). Language and gender: Making the difference. Burwood, VIC: Deakin University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prior, M., Leekman, S., Ong, B., Eisenmajer, R., Wing, L., Gould, J., & Dowe, D. (1998). Are there sub-groups within the Autistic Spectrum? A cluster analysis of a group of children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 39, 893–902.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Psathas, G. (1995). Conversation analysis: The study of talk-in-interaction (Vol. 35). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rao, P., Beidel, D., & Murray, M. (2008). Social skills interventions for children with Asperger’s syndrome or high-functioning autism: A review and recommendations. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 353–361.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rendle-Short, J. (2003). Managing interaction: A conversation analytic approach to the management of interaction by an 8 year-old girl with Asperger’s syndrome. Issues in Applied Linguistics, 13, 161–186.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rendle-Short, J. (2007). Catherine, you’re wasting your time: Address terms within the Australian political interview. Journal of Pragmatics, 39, 1503–1525.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rendle-Short, J. (2011). Address terms in the Australian political news interview. In M. Ekström & M. Patrona (Eds.), Talking politics in broadcast media: Cross-cultural perspectives on political interviewing, journalism and accountability (pp. 93–111). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Rendle-Short, J. (2014). Using conversational structure as an interactional resource: Children with Aspergers Syndrome and their conversational partners. In J. Arciuli & J. Brock (Eds.), Communication in autism: Trends in language acquisition research series (pp. 212–238). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rendle-Short, J., Cobb-Moore, C., & Danby, S. (2014). Aligning in and through interaction: Children getting in and out of spontaneous activity. Discourse Studies, 16(6), 792–815.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sacks, H. (1995). Lectures on conversation (G. Jefferson, Trans., Vol. I and II). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sacks, H., Schegloff, E. A., & Jefferson, G. (1974). A simplest systematics for the organization of turn-taking for conversation. Language, 50, 696–735.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schegloff, E. A. (1987). Analyzing single episodes of interaction: An exercise in conversation analysis. Social Psychology Quarterly, 50(2), 101–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schegloff, E. A. (1988). Description in the social sciences I: Talk-in-interaction. IPrA Papers in Pragmatics, 2(1/2), 1–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schegloff, E. A. (1992). Repair after next turn: The last structurally provided defense of intersubjectivity in conversation. American Journal of Sociology, 97(5), 1295–1345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schegloff, E. A. (2004). Answering the phone. In G. H. Lerner (Ed.), Conversation analysis: Studies from the first generation (pp. 63–107). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Schegloff, E. A. (2007). Sequence organization in interaction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Schegloff, E. A., Jefferson, G., & Sacks, H. (1977). The Preference for self-correction in the organisation of repair in conversation. Language, 53, 361–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sterponi, L., & Fasulo, A. (2010). ‘How to go on’: Intersubjectivity and progressivity in the communication of a child with autism. Ethos, 38, 116–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stribling, P., Rae, J., & Dickerson, P. (2007). Two forms of spoken repetition in a girl with autism. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 42, 427–444.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tager-Flusberg, H., & Anderson, M. (1991). The development of contingent discourse ability in autistic children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 32, 1123–1134.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Volden, J. (2004). Conversational repair in speakers with autism spectrum disorder. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 39, 171–189.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, G. (2013). Young children’s use of laughter after transgressions. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 46(4), 363–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson, R., & Marmot, M. (Eds.) (2003). Social determinants of health: The solid facts (2nd edition). Copenhagen: World Health Organization.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams-White, S., Keonig, K., & Scahill, L. (2007). Social skills development in children with Autism spectrum disorders: A review of the intervention research. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 1858–1868.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wing, L. (1981). Asperger’s syndrome: A clinical account. Psychological Medicine, 11, 115–129.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wootton, A. J. (1981). Children’s use of address terms. In P. French & M. MacLure (Eds.), Adult-child conversation (pp. 142–158). London: CroomHelm.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wootton, A. J. (2003). Interactional contrasts between typically developing children and those with autism, Asperger’s syndrome, and pragmatic impairment. Issues in Applied Linguistics, 13, 133–160.

    Google Scholar 

Recommended reading

  • • Gardner, H., & Forrester, M. (Eds.) (2010). Analysing interactions in childhood: Insights from conversation analysis. Oxford: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • • Rendle-Short, J. (2003). Managing interaction: A conversation analytic approach to the management of interaction by an 8 year-old girl with Asperger’s syndrome. Issues in Applied Linguistics, 13, 161–186.

    Google Scholar 

  • • Schegloff, E. (1987). Analyzing single episodes of interaction: An exercise in conversation analysis. Social Psychology Quarterly, 50(2), 101–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • • Wootton, A. J. (2003). Interactional contrasts between typically developing children and those with autism, Asperger’s syndrome, and pragmatic impairment. Issues in Applied Linguistics, 13, 133–160.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Johanna Rendle-Short
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ray Wilkinson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Susan Danby
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Leicester, UK

    Michelle O’Reilly (Senior Lecturer) (Senior Lecturer)

  2. Indiana University, USA

    Jessica Nina Lester (Assistant Professor) (Assistant Professor)

Copyright information

© 2015 Johanna Rendle-Short, Ray Wilkinson, and Susan Danby

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Rendle-Short, J., Wilkinson, R., Danby, S. (2015). Name-Calling by a Child with Asperger’s Syndrome. In: O’Reilly, M., Lester, J.N. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Child Mental Health. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137428318_19

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation