A corpus-based study comparing the use of deixis in the language of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders with typically developing children.

Abstract

It is well established that children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have difficulties with language, including the expressive use of deictic terms. This study compares the use of verbal deixis in children who have Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) with language matched typically developing (TYP) children. Language samples were obtained from the Child Language Data Exchange System, a collection of publicly available corpora of child speech (MacWhinney 2000). The Nadig corpus (Bang and Nadig 2015a), was selected, as it contained representative samples from both population groups under investigation and children were matched on language ability. Transcripts were evaluated with a specific focus on deixis as a pragmatic feature of speech. Results indicated that the frequency and type of deictic words uttered was relatively similar in typically developing children and those with an ASD diagnosis. Further experimental research is required to confirm these results. These findings obtained should be combined with research on the comprehension of deixis in both populations, as well as studies investigating non-verbal or gestural deixis.