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Communicative Competence in Parents of Children with Autism and Parents of Children with Specific Language Impairment

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Abstract

While the primary language deficit in autism has been thought to be pragmatic, and in specific language impairment (SLI) structural, recent research suggests phenomenological and possibly genetic overlap between the two syndromes. To compare communicative competence in parents of children with autism, SLI, and down syndrome (DS), we used a modified pragmatic rating scale (PRS-M). Videotapes of conversational interviews with 47 autism, 47 SLI, and 21 DS parents were scored blind to group membership. Autism and SLI parents had significantly lower communication abilities than DS parents. Fifteen percent of the autism and SLI parents showed severe deficits. Our results suggest that impaired communication is part of the broader autism phenotype and a broader SLI phenotype, especially among male family members.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grant NS RO1 38668 to Dr. Folstein and grant P01/U19 DC 03610, which is part of the NICHD/NIDCD Collaborative Programs of Excellence in Autism, to Dr. Tager-Flusberg. We offer special thanks to all the families who participated in this study.

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Author notes

  1. Tilla F. Ruser

    Present address: Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut, Connecticut, CT, USA

  2. Michael Dowd

    Present address: Yale University School of Nursing, New Haven, CT, USA

  3. Sara Putnam

    Present address: Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

  4. Beth Rosen-Sheidley

    Present address: Genetic Counseling Program, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, USA

  5. Susan Folstein

    Present address: Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Tilla F. Ruser, Deborah Arin, Michael Dowd, Sara Putnam, Brian Winklosky, Beth Rosen-Sheidley & Susan Folstein

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Joseph Piven

  3. Department of Speech Pathology, University of Iowa, Iowa, IA, USA

    Bruce Tomblin

  4. Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Helen Tager-Flusberg

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  1. Tilla F. Ruser
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Correspondence to Tilla F. Ruser.

 

 

 
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Appendix: Pragmatic Rating Scale—Modified Version

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Ruser, T.F., Arin, D., Dowd, M. et al. Communicative Competence in Parents of Children with Autism and Parents of Children with Specific Language Impairment. J Autism Dev Disord 37, 1323–1336 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0274-z

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