1.ReceptiveandExpressiveLanguage ASD

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RECEPTIVE AND EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES AND DIFERENCES

AMONG INDIVIDUALS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS
Research · April 2018

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.21733.70887
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RECEPTIVE AND EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES AND DIFERENCES
AMONG INDIVIDUALS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS
Ramaa. S
Regional Institute of Education,Mysore,
National Council of Educational Research and Training, India
Research Paper Presented In 8th Annual Education And

Development
Conference 05-07 March 2013 Bangkok Thailand
1
Abstract
The paper discusses the nature of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in general
and their language difficulties in particular. A brief account of the status of education and
research relating to autism in Indian situation is also given There are several studies,
which attempted to find out the difficulties in language skills among children with
autism. Majority of them attempted to assess expressive language difficulties and
pragmatic aspects. Many studies involved clinical population and younger children and
the findings were generalized. There is a need to study the children and youth who are
attending special schools, which provide sufficient attention to language development.
Recent studies reveal considerable heterogeneity as well as homogeneity among
individuals with ASD. In order to understand inter and intra individual differences among
them it is required to conduct comprehensive studies, which assess many aspects of
language by using appropriate standardized tools.. The paper discusses a study conducted
by the investigator which took in to consideration many of these factors. Specifically the
study focused at identifying the specific difficulties in different components of the
language, heterogeneity and homogeneity in them among individuals with autism
spectrum disorders. The findings of the study support the current thinking in the area.
Educational implications are discussed and suggestions for future research are given.
Key Terms
Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Receptive and Expressive Language difficulties,
Vocabulary age, Relational concepts, Sentence comprehension, Basic concepts, verbal expression
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Nature of Autism Spectrum Disorders
The study of autism has had a controversial history since the condition was first described
by Leo Kannar (Scheureman & Webber,2002) Autism was not a separate category under IDEA,
until 1990 (Kaplan,1996).
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Federal Government has
recognized Autism as a distinct disorder. The Federal definition is as follows: Autism means a
developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and non-verbal communication and social
interaction generally evident before age three that adversely affects educational performance.
Characteristics of autism include – irregularities and impairments in communication,
engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental
change or change in daily routines and unusual response to sensory experiences (Department of
Education, 1991, p.412-71). The fourth edition of (DSM - IV) published by the American
Psychiatric Association (1994) consider autistic disorder as one of a group of disorders called
pervasive developmental disorders. In order to be diagnosed as autistic disorder, a child must
exhibit at least six of the twelve symptoms in any of the following three general categories: (1)
Qualitative impairment in social interaction, (2) qualitative impairment in communication, (3)
restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behaviors, interest and activities. A child must
have at least two symptoms from group one, one from group two, and one from three in order to
be considered to have autistic disorder. In addition, the onset of the disorder must occur during
infancy or childhood i.e. before 36 months of age.
The researchers believe that autism is one of a group of related disorders that includes
asperger syndrome, rett syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder – not otherwise (PDD –
NOSO) specified. These other disorders share characteristics with autism, but also differ in
specific symptoms. For e.g. the onset of PDD-NOS may occur after the age of three years (Lord
and Risi, 2000).
Several controversies were there in the beginning about the cause of autism. However
during the 1980s autism was found to be an organic disorder, thus eliminating much of the
speculation (Eaves, 1992). The degree of impairment among children with Autistic spectrum
disorder (ASD) is highly variable, and the characteristics of the disability may present
themselves in various combinations, from very severe to very mild. The less severe children are
commonly referred to as having high-functioning autism or Asperger syndrome (Frank, 2010).
Asperger syndrome (AS) as one of the conditions under the umbrella of Autistic spectrum
disorder (ASD) that has received a great deal of attention since the 1990s was somewhat ignored
until it was initially included in DSM-IV-TR (Safran, 2002). However questions remained that
whether High Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger Syndrome (AS) represent two distinct
conditions or whether they differ only in symptom severity (Volkmar & Klin, 2000; Prior,
2003).During the past decade, variety of research has been conducted in examining such a
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distinction between HFA & AS. However, they failed to differentiate the two (Wing, 2000).
Thede & Coolidge, (2007) observed that many individuals with HFA and AS share the same
dysfunction.
Various theories have been put forth to explain the unique features of autism. On the basis
of an extensive review Ramaa (1998) classified them as Biological, Neuro- Physiological,
Psycho-physiological and Psychological Theories. The biogenic theories of autism include
mainly genetic basis theory as well as abnormality in the anatomy of the neurobiological system.
The neuro-physiological theories explain the causative factors of autism in terms of unusual
immune response, metabolic errors, dysfunction of opioid system. Psycho-physiological theories
emphasize information processing deficits. Language and social- pragmatic deficits are
explained by psychological theories. Explanations to social and pragmatic deficits are attempted
through cognitive theories which include Piaget’s two factor theory, meta-representation theory,
affective theories as well as Inner language theories. Each of these theories explains some aspect
of autism. So there is a need to view it from a multidisciplinary perspective in order to get a
complete picture of autism and to provide medical & psycho-educational interventions to the
individuals with autism.
According to Frith (2008) autism is referred to as the autistic spectrum or autistic

spectrum disorder (ASD) to indicate that it covers a range of conditions including Asperger’s
syndrome. ASDs are a range of neurologically based developmental disorders, known as
neurodevelopmental disorders. In other words, they stem from an irregularity in the development
of the brain. Gould (2011) emphasizes that a lack or impairment of the social instinct is the
single feature that is the basis of all autistic spectrum conditions. Ramaa (1998, 2008) considers
autism as a complex learning disorder which can be explained through an interactionist model of
development that is both inborn / internal deficiencies and environmental deprivation. Thus an
early identification and intervention is essential to develop their potentiality to maximum
possible extent.
Autism historically has been considered as a low incidence disability, but the number of
children identified over the past years has increased dramatically (Zirkell, P., 2002) Prevalence of
autism and related ASDs is substantially greater than previously recognised. Whether the
increase is due to better ascertainment, broadening diagnostic criteria, or increased incidence is
unclear. Services in health, education, and social care will need to recognise the needs of children
with some form of ASD, who constitute 1% of the child population.
There has been a major rise in the incidence of autistic spectrum disorders over the past
20 years Current research indicates that as many as 1 in every 86 children have a diagnosis on
the autistic spectrum (Baird et al, 2006). For 2008, the overall estimated prevalence of ASDs
among the 14 Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network (ADDM) sites in
USA was 11.3 per 1,000 (one in 88) children aged 8 years who were living in these communities
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during 2008.Combining data from all 14 ADDM sites, estimated ASD prevalence was 18.4 per
1,000 (one in 54) males and 4.0 per 1,000 (one in 252) females (Baio, 2012). Balsara(2011)
observed that the number of reported cases of autism increased dramatically in the 1990s and
early 2000s. She has attempted to give some explanation for the same. The increase is largely
attributable to changes in diagnostic practices, referral patterns, availability of services, age at
diagnosis, and public awareness, though as yet unidentified environmental risk factors cannot be
ruled out, and the available evidence does not primarily rule out the possibility that autism’s true
prevalence has increased.
It is interesting to note that the prevalence is increasing in India as well. Manju and
associates (2012) attempted to detect autism among toddlers in Kerala State, India. Prevalence of
autism: in that study of clinical population has been found to be five percent according to
Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT) and eight percent according to Trivandrum Autism
Behaviour Checklist (TABC). The prevalence in United States is 3 to 6.7% in one study and 4 to
6% in another study, which is comparable with the present study (Manju & associates, 2012).
This suggests the type of tool and population (clinical or general) also determine the prevalence
rates.More students in UK schools have ASDs than ever before, and 1 in 3 children in special
schools now have an educational need related to autism (Barnard & associates, 2002), which
highlights the need for an effective educational approach to meet the needs of this complex
population of students.
The epidemic –like recent increases in the number of people identified as having autism
has given rise to new social challenges that require a response on a greater scale than would have
been anticipated even in the mid-1990s (Tom& others, 2010). Steuernagel (2005, cited in Tom,
2010) has highlighted the policy implications as related the need for enhanced teacher training,
support for general education teachers to promote successful inclusion, increased vocational
rehabilitation services for adults, increased commitment to research on etiology, advanced
understanding of effective interventions for use by parents and teachers. All these call for a
through understanding of the nature of autism, types, strengths and weaknesses in different
aspects of development.
In India, The national Policy of Education (1986) and its Programme of Action (1992)
and also Persons with Disabilities Act did not consider the welfare and /or of individuals with
autism (Ramaa, 1994 & 2007). Anita (1992) and Ramaa (1994) on the basis of their National
level surveys found out that very limited service was available to individuals with autism in
India. Further they noticed that nearly 50% of the schools meant for the mentally retarded
children offered special education to this category of children also. Majority of the teachers had
training in the area of autism. Rao (2003) also observed that currently in India, there are very few
educational services available for individuals with autism. On the positive side, introduction and
implementation of the National Trust Act (1999) and establishment of National Trust improved
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the situation. The trust has covered autism also along with cerebral palsy, mental retardation and
multiple disabilities.
There has been an increased awareness nationwide about ASD due to voluntary efforts
towards their education and rehabilitation ( Narayan & Cousik ,2003; Rao 2003; Myreddi; 2003,
Ramaa ,2007). It is reported in the Karavalmban, (2003) that services for ASD, in India, is
gaining momentum in the recent years by focusing on the areas like assessment and intervention.
However, facilities rendering services to them are not adequate and need for more professionals
is felt. The research activities are in the nascent stage.
It is important to note that whilst autism exists at all levels of intelligence, research
suggests that as many as 70–75% of individuals with autism also have a learning disability, with
up to 40% showing severe to profound learning disability (Fombonne, 2003). The degree of
learning disability tends to increase with the severity of ASDs – students with more severe
learning disability typically exhibit more extreme social impairments, less verbal ability and
increased repetitive, self-injurious and aggressive behaviours than students with no, or only mild,
learning disability.
In addition to learning disability, ASDs often occur alongside other difficulties or

disabilities such as sensory impairment, gastrointestinal disorders, epilepsy, pathological demand
avoidance (PDA), other conditions (eg., tuberous sclerosis, ADHD, Down syndrome, Fragile X
and other chromosomal disorders) and mental health problems. All of these may compromise the
effectiveness of accepted educational approaches for students with autism, and increase the need
for personalising teaching and learning strategies (Fombonne, 2003).
Since individuals with ASD may have mental retardation and / or learning disabilities,
expertise in handling these disabilities may also help in handling the problems of ASD. In India,
though limited research has been carried out in understanding the nature of language difficulties
and the effectiveness of various remedial instruction programme on Individuals with ASD
(IWASD), sufficient work has been done in the area of Mental retardation and learning
disabilities. Some studies were carried out on the language disorders in Indian languages.
Abdunnasar, (1997) & Srimani (1998, 2012) conducted a very comprehensive study in
Malayalam and Kannada, South Indian languages. Srimani developed remedial instruction
programme also, which was found to be very effective in improving performance in different
aspects of language. Das (1996) assessed basic concepts in English language among learning
disabled children. Research may be carried out on similar lines in the area of ASD. But one of
the major problems in conducting research on communication problems in autism, In India, is
lack of standardized tools in all the languages. India is a multilingual country with nearly 1,576
mother tongues and 22 official languages. Geetha and Prema, (2007) observed that
Developmental Language Disorders (DLDs) pose a great diagnostic challenge to the practicing
speech language pathologists in view of the complexities and variability in their manifestations.
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This is more so in a country like India where multi-lingual and multi-cultural factors influence
the acquisition of speech and language in a child. Most of the children are exposed to a minimum
of two languages during their preschool and early school years. The diagnostic process is further
complicated by the non-availability of standardized language assessment tools in the Indian
languages (Geetha and Prema, 2007).
Impairments in language are among the core features of autism (APA, 1994). Rutter
(1978) reported that it is a well established fact that the problem of children with autism is not
just that they use limited speech, but rather their speech is abnormal in many respects. Many
children with autism do not develop spoken language at all. The percentage may vary from 21 to
61 depending on the nature of the study. Communication problems among individuals with ASD
not only affect their day to day functioning but also affect their academic performance. Because
of the same reason, in fact most parents are worried about the language problems among these
individuals than other problems. Kalyanpur and Gowramma (2007), noticed that the
preschoolers’ parents of children with autism perceived language acquisition or “learning to
speak” as the benchmark for their child becoming normal and being able to transition to regular
school.
Difficulties with language comprehension are also prevalent in children with autism.
There is now strong evidence indicating that many children with Autism have structural language
problems- that is, impairments in some or all of the basic building blocks of language, very
reminiscent of what is seen in non-autistic children with specific language impairment. This
raises the interesting possibility that some of the problems that autistic children have with
processing language in context may be a consequence of language impairment, rather than that
of an autism-specific cognitive style. (Courtenay, Bruce & Derothy, 2008)
Research studies on Communication problems among Individuals with ASD.
Most of the researches on ASD have been focused on understanding the nature of
communication problems among Individuals with ASD. (IWASD). However , Tager-Flusberg,
(2004) observed that despite over five decades of research, there is still a great deal that needs to
be learned about language in autism. Several different methodological approaches have been
used for studying language in children with autism. In most of the classic studies, children with
autism are compared to comparison groups typically matched on age, IQ, or mental age for the
purpose of identifying the unique and universal features of language abnormalities. In order to
facilitate the understanding of the specific difficulties in language among individuals with autism
a brief account of the major findings and important observations are cited below. In addition to
general differences in language and communication development, researchers have found out
delays, difficulties and differences in specific aspects of language in individuals with autism.
They are discussed below.
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Phonological difficulties
Bartolucci, Pierce, Streiner and Eppel (1976) on the basis of their study noticed children
with autism have a normal, but delayed, sequence of phonological development. Many
investigators reported that children with autism have considerable difficulty in supra segmental
features of sound production i.e. stress and intonation (Kuder ,2003). Goldfarb, Braunstein and
Lorge, (1956) noticed that children with autism use intonations that are not appropriate to the
meaning of the sentence. Fay and Schuler, (1980) have further noticed that individuals with
autism often lack expression in their voices and may speak monotonously which can be
attributed to inability to process the supra segmental features of speech. Kuder (2003)
emphasized that, though it is sure that may individuals with autism may have unusual vocal
characteristics that cannot be explained by a lag on development. Tager – Flusberg (1981)
suggested that systematic researches are required to confirm this hypothesis.
Difficulties in Syntax
In studies on syntactic development in autistic children, a generalized delay was observed

.Cunningham (1968) identified that grammatical morphemes and function words (articles,
auxiliaries) were often omitted by the child. Cantwell et al (1978) concluded that children with
autism seem to have particular difficulty in applying syntactic rules in their language. Tager –
Flusberg and associates (1990) reported that a syntactic development of children with autism
follows a normal developmental course, but there are exceptions. Kuder (2003) also observed
that there is a great deal of variability among children with autism and some children may
deviate from the pattern of normal development.
Difficulties in Semantics
Though research studies on the semantic abilities of children with autism are limited in
number, the findings clearly reveal that this is an area of significant difficulty for most
individuals with autism. The studies by Baltaxe and Simmons (1975), Ricks and Wing (1975)
and Brook and Bowler (1992) revealed that autism might be an example of a semantic –
pragmatic language disorder. They suggest that semantic processing difficulties are an important
feature of autism, though the evidence is largely circumstantial. Tager – Flusberg (1985) on the
basis of her study found that the subjects with autism were no different from non-disabled
subjects in their categorization abilities. She further concluded that the view of the world of the
subjects with autism that she tested was quite similar to that of the other children in the study.
Eskes, Bryson and McCormick (1990) made similar observations. They found out that children
with autism could comprehend both concrete and abstract words such as life and time, much like
children in a normally developing controlled group matched for reading ability. There is a need
to consider these findings with some caution. Because, the autistic subjects in these studies were
quite high functioning and the control groups in these studies were matched for language or
8
reading age, thus the control subjects were much younger. Volden and Lord (1991) observed in
some studies that children with autism use more idiosyncratic language and neologism in their
language. Kuder (2003) inferred that autistic individuals have two types of semantic skill
difficulties, namely, difficulty with organizing information into categories and using this
information for thinking and problem solving.
Studies of Verbal understanding have focused on a narrow range of words limited to

concrete objects. Acquiring the meanings of nouns that fit simple perceptual categories is
different from acquiring the meaning of multiple words that relate in a particular way. Research
on autistic children’s comprehension of phrases and sentences suggests that they have more
trouble tapping relational meaning than normally developing and M. R controls matched on
nonverbal mental age.
Examination of relational terms in the spontaneous speech of a sample of high-

functioning autistic children suggests that while they used relational words correctly, they were
less apt to use such words than were children with Down syndrome. Sigmon & Capps (1997).
Parish-Morris (2012) observed that while many learn a reasonably-sized set of object
words, few master the relational terms (verbs and prepositions) that are the architectural
centerpiece of the sentence. Though learning relational terms poses difficulty even for typically
developing children, these words are differentially harder for children with ASD.
In addition to propositions (spatial concepts), there are other relational terms which fall
into the categories of temporal and, quantitative terms. Many educators consider them as basic
concepts. The ability to understand basic concepts requires skills and knowledge with both
linguistics and cognitive demands. They are very much essential for children to understand
school activities, which makes them critical to school success. Studies have also shown that
children with learning difficulties tend to face more difficulties when learning basic concepts and
that insufficient learning experience during the preschool years may lead to differences in
conceptual development in later years (Beech, 1981). Basic concepts can be thought of as
building blocks for thinking and problem solving as well as the basic units of learning and
instruction (Zhou & Boehm, 2001). Possible reasons for lack of comprehension of basic
concepts on the BTBC can come from various sources, such as lack of knowledge of concept
labels or vocabulary deficits, the complexity of directions, inadequate auditory memory of
sentences, or a difficult level of abstraction and deficits in spatial perception (Björk Gísladóttir
Thelma, 2010). Study of Basic Concepts among IWASD is also very important. But such
attempts are very rare.
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Difficulties in Pragmatic Skills
Another important area Most of the research studies relating to language difficulty in
autistic individuals devoted to understand the pragmatic difficulties. The studies clearly pointed
out significant impairment in this aspect among autistic individuals. Tiegerman-Farber (2002) on
the basis of the studies conducted, concluded that the specific pragmatics problems associated
with autism are initiating and terminating interaction; maintaining conversational topics,
functioning within speaker and listener roles and using behaviour for the purpose of
communication.
Prizant and Duchan, (1981) and Long and Long, (1994) noticed that two specific
language differences frequently associated with autism are echolalia and pronoun reversal.
Echolalia has been reported to be a significant variable in the language of the autistic children
(Shyamala and Indu 1991). The presence of echolalia in general is felt to be a good prognostic
indicator with the view that echolalia can be later therapeutically modified into meaningful
conversations (Shyamala 1989).
Shyamala & associates (2007) studied echoic utterances among seven verbal autistic
children (5 male and 2 female) with mild grade mental retardation (IQ: 55 – 70) in the age range
of 6 – 11 years. All these children had Malayalam as their mother tongue. The study revealed that
autistic children show high percentage of immediate echolalic utterances along with other speech
abnormalities like errors in prosody, pronoun, with considerable delayed development of
language and non-verbal skills. Pragmatic deficiencies along various functional categories like
turn taking and affirmation etc. were also glimpsed. The investigators recommended that these
findings however, need to be explored for greater details with well controlled studies.
Individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) have significant difficulties in social

interaction, but they do not have profound language and communication deficits. However,
individuals with AS do have specific difficulties in social-pragmatic language (Landa, 2000 &
Kuder, 2003)
Wetherby (1986) on the basis of her review of research inferred that the extent of
communication of children with autism was greater with their teachers than with their
classmates. Similarly, Bernard-Opitz (1982) observed that a child with autism interacted more
with his mother and a clinician than with an unfamiliar adult. So during research it is necessary
to take into consideration these factors also.
Tager-Flusberg, (2000& Tager-Flusberg( 2004) remarked that because children with

autism have severe impairments in communication and are often reluctant to speak, especially
around unknown people, a broad analysis of their verbal skills remains challenging. As a
consequence only a few studies have focused on nonpragmatic aspects of the autistic speech.
10
Tager-Flusberg, (2004) she pointed out that research on language conducted over the past
50 years has primarily been concerned with this question: What are the unique and universal
features that define the abnormal language characteristics of autism?
She has further commented that the full range of language abilities and impairments in
autism, which together make up the phenotypic expression of this component of the disorder,
cannot easily be investigated using the same methods used in earlier research. Cross-sectional
matched group designs will not be useful for studying variation in language among persons with
autism.
For this purpose an alternative strategy has been suggested. The focus of this strategy is
to identify the complex expression of the language phenotype in autism across the full range of
the syndrome and to explore within-group individual differences in language functioning.
Recently distinct language phenotypic subgroups are identified within the autism populations
that are relevant to understanding the underlying genetic and neurobiological etiology of autism
(Tager-Flusberg, 2004).
Heterogeneity of language abilities in Individuals with ASD
Tager-Flusberg (2004). reviwed a series of studies that explicitly focused on exploring the
heterogeneity of language abilities among children with autism (Kjelgaard & Tager-Flusberg,
2001; Tager-Flusberg, 2003) with a within-group design. The study conducted by Kjelgaard &
Tager-Flusberg, (2001) included 89 children with autism between the ages of 4 and 14 years. All
of them had at least acquired phrase Speech. Thus the study was restricted for investigating
heterogeneity among verbal children with autism.. The sample varied widely in IQ. Each child
was administered a battery of standardized language tests testing articulation skills, receptive and
expressive vocabulary, nonsense word repetition skills, and higher-order receptive and
expressive syntax and semantics. About half the group was not able to complete testing on the
more advanced language tests because of their limited cognitive and linguistic abilities. A wide
range of performance was noticed among the subjects of the study by using standard scores on
each of the language measures. Some children scored at or above the mean, whereas others
scored well below the mean, in the significantly impaired range. These analyses identified
different language subtypes among the children.
Dawson and associates 2002; Happé, 2003; Tager-Flusberg & Joseph, 2003 pointed out
that within the field of autism there is growing appreciation of the importance of studying the
heterogeneity that is found across the spectrum of this disorder in all aspects of cognition as well
as language. By directly investigating heterogeneity we can identify more homogenous subtypes
within the population. In turn, these homogenous subtypes can potentially advance our
understanding of the genetic and neurobiological bases of autism. Kuder (2003) also has
recommended that whenever we talk about children with autism, we must keep in mind the
11
heterogeneous nature of the population. She has concluded on the basis of the reviews, that some
aspects of language such as phonology and syntax seem relatively intact in the autistic
population. There are delays, but for the most part, development progress through the usual
stages. Deficits in semantics and pragmatics are more significant. But even in these domains
some individuals have relatively intact skills.
Shivakumar (2003) has made some very interesting observations about the nature of
autism. He has pointed out that while describing the symptoms of ASD, it is the negative aspects
that are generally highlighted. However, it may be noted that many children and adults with
autism may have positive features like establishing eye to eye contact, expressing affects and
other emotions such as happiness, anger etc. in varying degrees. They may respond to their
environment both in positive and negative ways.
A comprehensive study conducted by Gupta and Singhal (2009), in New Delhi, India also
supports the heterogeneity among individuals with autism. The aim was the study was to
investigate the clinical presentation of the symptoms of autism and the development of language
and learning skills in children with autism and compare it with the profile of the typically
developing children. Each item was analysed to see the variation in autistic symptoms and skill
development of children on the autistic spectrum. Twenty children (mean age, 4.16 years (0.86))
with autism were compared to 20 controls (mean age, 3.67 years (0.38). The two groups did not
differ significantly in age, sex, parental age, parental education, family religion and family
income. Families with parents having any psychiatric, neurological or physical disability were
excluded. On the basis of their study they concluded that children with autism show significant
deficits in social functioning, language/communication skills, self-help skills, and sensory areas.
The manifestation of these symptoms varied with each child. The use of receptive and expressive
language; imitation skills; motor skills and knowledge of letters and numbers was found to be
significantly below that of the typically developing children. The results are uniform in showing
that children with autism follow individual patterns of skill development and have their
individual areas of relative strengths and weaknesses.
Most of the studies discussed above have investigated expressive language skills among
individuals with autism. The studies exploring difficulties in receptive language skills are limited
in number. From the point of view of education and intervention, it is essential to assess both the
set of skills and understand the strengths and weaknesses in these skills. There is a need to use
standardized test for assessing the language functioning among them. The studies should be
comprehensive enough to investigate inter and intra individual differences among IWASD in
different aspects of language on same set of subjects.
The study conducted by the investigator on similar lines to that of the recommendations
given by many investigators on the basis of their extensive review of researches relating to study
of language functioning among individuals with autism, is discussed below. It was mainly
12
concerned with the study of the specific difficulties in non pragmatic aspects of language
development among individuals with autism spectrum disorder who had acquired at least phrase
speech. Thus the study was restricted to Verbal Individuals with ASD. The focus was to identify
the heterogeneity as far as language functioning is concerned, among the subjects of the study
and also to identify the subtypes among them. It was further attempted to understand the intra
individual differences among them. The significance of the present study can be understood in
the light of the recent trends of research in the field.
Method
It is mainly an exploratory study. The details about the sample, tools, and data analysis
are discussed below.
Subjects of the Study
Twenty-six students with autism spectrum disorders were selected from special schools
for such students in United Kingdom. The schools were residential in nature and children were
weekly boarders in the sense they were going to their homes during week ends. The number of
such students so selected varied from school to school. The age of the subjects ranged from
6years 6 months to 18 years 11 months. One child was excluded during the course of testing
because of difficulty in managing the behaviour problem. There were six females and 19 males
altogether for the remaining part of the study. All of them acquired at least phrase speech and
thus were verbal. They were free from sensory handicaps. Their intellectual ability varied from
above average to moderate level of retardation as expressed by their teachers on the basis of
psychological reports maintained in the school.
Assessment Instruments
The components of language assessed in the study were ability to comprehend

vocabulary, relational terms and sentence patterns, ability to gain meaning from pictures as well
as expression of the ideas verbally (description of the story). In the study these aspects were
measured through British Picture Vocabulary Scale (Dunn, et al. 1982), Boehm’s Test of Basic
Concepts (Boehm, 1969), Sentence Comprehension Test (Wheldall, Mittler and Hobsaum, 1987)
and picture Arrangement Test, sub-test of WISC (Wechsler, 1949) respectively. The first three
tests were employed to measure the receptive aspect of language whereas the last one was used
to measure both receptive and expressive aspects of language.
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British Picture Vocabulary Test
British Picture Vocabulary Test (BPVS) measures receptive vocabulary. It is essentially a

test of vocabulary comprehension (not mere decoding), especially suitable for non-speaking
children. It is an age scale and covers an age range from 3 to 19 years. It consists of 150 words in
the order of increasing difficulty. In this test, there are four alternative pictures for each stimulus
word, out of which only one is a correct response. The child is shown a text booklet with four
line drawings on one page and is asked to point or eye point a named picture. The test was
administered individually keeping in mind the testing procedures of establishing basal and
ceiling items for each subject of the study.
Picture Arrangement Test, subtest of WISC
The picture Arrangement Test, subtest of WISC was administered to the subjects of the
study to assess their ability to understand the meaning of the pictures, to think sequentially and
logically. In addition to arranging the card in proper order the subjects were expected to verbally
describe the story after completion of the task. The descriptions were noted verbatim along with
the other details such as the fluency, use of facial expression and gestures, intonation, etc. This
task was also employed to measure the expressive aspects of language in a less formal and non-
social situation. At the time of testing at least one teacher from each of the selected schools were
involved. They were also requested to note down the verbal responses (description of the stories)
of the subjects. With the help of a rating scale prepared by the investigator the responses were
analysed and on the basis of the consensus among the raters ratings were given to different
components.
Boehm’s Test of Basic Concepts
The Boehm’s Test of Basic Concepts is an assessment instrument designed to screen a beginning
pupil’s knowledge of fifty frequently used basic concepts by means of the paper-and-pencil
response mode. Mastery of a concept was measured on the basis of accuracy on the one item
designed for each concept. The test is for use in kindergarten through Grade 2, and is designed to
assess children's knowledge of important concepts in their simple forms. The test consists of 50
basic concepts-23 spatial concepts, four temporal concepts, 18 quantitative concepts and five
miscellaneous concepts.
The subject’s knowledge is tested by presenting 50 sets of drawings of common objects

in multiple choice form. In each set, the testee is required to perceive a relationship of space, or
quantity, or time, or similarity and difference. Boehm’s Test of Basic Concepts consist of 50
basic concepts-23 spatial concepts, four temporal concepts, 18 quantitative concepts and five
14
miscellaneous concepts. These concepts are represented in the form of pictures. The subject has
to point out the appropriate picture from among multiple choices. The test is not intended as a
measure of mental ability, but has been designed as a screening and teaching instrument.
Sentence Comprehension Test
The test is in the same format as the Brirish Picture Vocabulary Test but measures the receptive
aspect of communication in a structured situation. The Test assesses the child’s comprehension of
sentences which are gradually increasing in length & complexity. The child has to point to one of
the four pictures which correspond to the stimulus sentence spoken by the examiner. The age
range of the test is from three to five years.
The Sentence Comprehension Test assesses the comprehension of following types of

sentence patterns and parts of speech.
1. Simple intransitive
2. Simple transitive
3. Intransitive with adjective
4. Plural
5. Past tense
6. Future tense
7. Simple negativee
8. Simple prepositions
9. Embedded phrase
10. Prepositions error –on, in, by, under
The test was administered to 25 subjects of the study individually and scored by using the
instructions given in the manual.
Data Analysis
In order to understand the relative strengths and weaknesses of the subjects of the study
in the performance of above tests, an attempt was made to make a detailed analysis of the
15
responses of the subjects to the items of the tests. An effort was also made to find out the extent
to which their performance on different tests is related to each other. Pearson product moment
correlation and Partial Correlations were used for these purposes.
Performance on British Picture Vocabulary Scale (BPVS)
The raw scores obtained on BPVS were converted into standard scores and Vocabulary Age
(VA), which in turn helped to find out the level of performance in the case of each individual
subject separately. Difference between Chronological age (CA) and VA were calculated. On the
basis of the difference (DA) the subjects were considered to have different levels of performance
on BPVS. It was noticed that VA was not on par with that of CA in the subjects and there was a
considerable inter individual differences as far as the divergence between CA and VA in the
subjects of the study is concerned. The difference (DA) between Chronological Age (CA) and
Vocabulary Age (VA) were ranged from +5.9 to (-) 14 years.
Table 1.
Number of children exhibited different levels of performance on BPVS (N=26)
Sl No. Level of Difference between No. of subjects

Performance CA and VA (DA)
1. Extremely High > than 4.1 years 1
2. Moderately High 2.1 to 4 years 0
3. High Average 1.1 to 2 years 0
4. Average 0 to +/- 1 year 0
5. Low Average (-)1.1 to 2 years 1
6. Moderately Low (-)2.1 to 4years 7
7. Extremely Low (-)4.1 & above years 17
It was observed that in all excepting one subject vocabulary age (VA) was less than that
of the chronological age (CA). While 65% of the subjects showed extremely low level
performance, 27% of the subjects showed moderately low level of performance. None of the
subjects were average. This finding confirms the observation made by Volden and Lord (1991)
that autistics exhibit semantic errors. It is interesting to note that the performance of the subject
‘G’ on this test was extremely high (DA = (+) 5.9 years) and there was no ceiling for this child
16
on the test, suggesting that the test administered in the study could not tap his complete
vocabulary. It was further noticed in the study that 17 out of 150 words were correctly attempted
by 100% of the subjects. Fifty percent of the words (75/150) were attempted by l ess than 40%
of the subjects (N=10/26). An attempt was made to analyse the types of words that are included
in the BPVS which were attempted by at least 40% (N=11/26) of the subjects and to calculate the
percentage of subjects who answered them correctly. The Tables.2 (a) to (h) give the details.
Table.2(a)
Percentage of Subjects who attempted different types of words on BPVS (common nouns)
Sl No. Stimulus Word & Sl No. No. Percentage of Children
attempted Responded correctly
1. Time (9) 26 92.30
(abstract noun)
2. Cow (12 26 96.15

3. Candle (14) 26 96.15
4. Spanner (21) 26 84.61
5. Arrow (23) 26 92.30
6. Forest (32) (collective noun) 26 84.61

7. Eagle (33) 25 76
8. Flask (39) 25 92
9. Anchor (42) 24 66.66
10. Bolt (51) 21 66.66
11. Fern (57) 17 47.05
12. Ornament (58) 16 50
13. Steam (60) 15 80
14. Balcony (62) 14 78.57
15. Link (64) 14 64.28
16. Locket (66) 12 50

17. Weasel (68) 12 50
Mean Percentage 74.55
17
Table.2(b)
Percentage of Subjects who attempted different types of words on BPVS (part of the body/plant)
Sl No. Stimulus Word No. Percentage of

& Sl No. attempted Children Responded
correctly
1. Feather (17) 26 92.30
2. Claw (27) 26 73.07
3. Ankle (38) 25 68
4. Root (47) 22 77.27
5. Wrist (49) 22 86.36
6. Seed (63) 14 73.33
7. Tusk (65) 12 50
Table.2(c)
Percentage of Subjects who attempted different types of words on BPVS (verbs)
Sl No. Stimulus Word & Sl No. No. Percentage of Children
attempted Responded correctly
Chopping (24) 26 80.76

Delivering (30) 26 80.76
Pasting (34) 25 72
Diving (37) 25 88
Tugging (41) (verb) 25 64

Dripping (45) (verb) 22 86.36
Sorting (53) (verb) 21 47.61
Greeting (56) (verb) 18 55.55
Plastering (61) (verb) 15 66.66
1. Bloom (70) Related to flowers (verb) 11 54.54
2. Emerging (71) (verb) 11 63.63
3. Grooming (72) (verb) 11 55.55
18
Table.2(d)
Percentage of Subjects who attempted different types of words on BPVS (Professionals)
Sl No. Stimulus Word & No. Percentage of

Sl No. of Words attempted Children Responded
correctly
1. Dentist (26) 26 96.15
2. Teacher (43) 23 65.21
3. Waiter (50) 21 61.90
4. Entertainer (59) 15 66.66
Table.2(e)
Percentage of Subjects who attempted different types of words on BPVS (Emotional/Social
words)
Sl No. Stimulus Word & No. Percentage of Children

Sl No. of Words attempted Responded correctly
1. Sharing (25) 26 84.61
2. Horror (28) 26 80.76
3. Delighted (40) 25 68
4. Disagreement (46) 22 72.72

5. Surprise (52) 21 61.90
6. Snarling (67) 12 50
Emotional word
7. Isolation (69) 11 50
19
Table.2(f)
Percentage of Subjects who attempted different types of words on BPVS (adjective)
Sl No. of Words attempted Responded correctly
1. Furry (29) 26 65.38
2. Woolly (35) 25 56
Table.2(g)
Percentage of Subjects who attempted different types of words on BPVS (class/category)
Sl No. attempted Responded correctly
1. Liquid (31) 26 76.92
2. Vegetable (36) 25 68
3. Grain (54) 20 60
Table.2(h)
Percentage of Subjects who attempted different types of words on BPVS (mathematical
concepts)
Sl No. Stimulus Word & Sl No. Percentage of Children
No. attempted Responded correctly
1. Pair (48) 22 59.09
2. Tubular (55) 18 66.66
20
Table. 3
Mean Percentage of Subjects who attempted different types of words correctly on BPVS
Sl No. Categories of Words Mean Percentage

1. Common nouns 74.55
2. Part of the body/plant 74.33
3. Verbs 67.95
4. Professionals 72.48
5. Emotional/Social words 60.69
6. Adjective 66.86
7. Class/category 68.31
8. Mathematical concepts 62.88
From the Table 2 (a) to (h) and 3 certain observations can be made. As the degree of
complexity of the items increases, which is indicated by the serial number of the words in BPVS,
(given in the brackets), percentage of the subjects who attempted them decreased drastically.
About 50 to 80 % of the subjects who attempted the items passed all the categories of words.
This supported the observations made by Eskes, Bryson and McCormick (1990) that children
with autism could comprehend different kinds of concepts similar to that of normal children. The
Table 3 reveals that majority of the subjects could comprehend common nouns. The subjects of
the study could comprehend even the words representing certain classess or categories . Nearly
60% of the subjects who attempted the emotional /social words could comprehend them. In order
to match these words with the correct pictures, the subjects have to perceive the emotions or
social situations properly. This show the subjects of the study could perceive them correctly. The
previous studies suggested this is one of most difficult areas for autistic individuals.
Performance on Picture Arrangement Test
The raw scores on Picture Arrangement Test (WISC) were converted into Test Age (TA.
Table No: 4 gives the details. It was noticed that 20 out of 25 subjects (80%) of the study were
below average in picture arrangement. The difference between Chronological Age and Test Age
(TA) ranged from 3 months to 12 years 9 months. The difference between the CA and TA in
these cases ranged from 3 months 2 years 10 months.
21
Table. 4
Number of children exhibited different levels of performance on BPVS and PAT WISC (N=25)
Sl No. Level of Difference between CA and No.of subjects No. of subjects

Performance VA / CA and TA (DA) on BPVS
PAT
1. Ext. High > than 4.1 years 1 0
2. Mod. High 2.1 to 4 years 0 1
3. High Average 1.1 to 2 years 0 1
4. Average 0- 1 year 0 3
5. Low Average (-)1.1 to 2 years 1 4
6. Moderately Low (-)2.1 to 4years 7 4
7. Extremely Low (-)4.1 & above years 16 12
From the Table 4, it is clear that more number of the subjects have extreme and moderate levels
of difficulty in comprehending the vocabulary than performing in a non verbal test .This finding
supports the earlier observations that autistic individuals have more strength in non verbal
abilities compared to verbal abilities. Since BPVS and PAT-WISC are both age scales and age
appropriate tools a matrix has been prepared to find out the percentage of subjects who exhibited
same/different level of performance on these tests.
22
Table. 5
Matrix Showing Number of children exhibiting different levels of performance on BPVS and
PAT WISC (N=25)
Level of Performance PAT- Ext Mod Low Avg High Mod Ext
WISC Low Low Avg Avg High High
Extremely Low 12 4 1 1 - - -
Level of
Performance Moderately - 1 2 1 - 1 -
BPVS Low
Low Average - - 1 - - - -
Average - - - - - - -
High Average - - - - - - -
Mod High - - - - - - -
Extremely High - - - - - 1 -
An interesting observation can be made from the Table 5 that 14 out of 25 (56%) of the
subjects exhibited same level of performance in both the tests. The remaining 44% exhibited
different level of performance.
23
Analysis of the Verbal Expression by the subjects
As discussed earlier, the verbatim of the verbal expression (description of the stories)
made by each subject was analysed. The test items which were correctly responded by each
subject were only considered for this purpose. The number of subjects falling into different levels
of ratings are given in the following Tables 6(a) to (f).
Table. 6(a)
Describing the Story in a Logical Manner
Description Rating Number of Test age

children range
(N=25)
Exceptional ability to relate ideas in a logical 5 0

manner
8.10 to 15.06
Above average ability to relate ideas in a logical 4 5

manner
Average ability to tell story in logical manner 3 8 7.06 to 8.09
Has difficulty in relating ideas in a logical sequence 2 4 4.10 to 7.02
Unable to tell a story in logical sequence 1 8
24
Table. 6 (b)
Fluency in Expression
Description Ratin Number of children

g (N=25)
Spontaneous 3 8
Needed a little prompting (leading questions) 2 7
Needed to be prompted each stage 1 10
Table. 6 (c)
Nature of Description
Description Rating Number of children
(N=25)
Detailed description 4 4
Brief presentation 3 10
Insufficient description 2 5
Very poor in content 1 6
25
Table. 6 (d)
Use of Natural Gestures
Description Rating Number of

children
Frequently 3 0
Some times 2 3
Rarely 1 22
Never 0 0
Table. 6 (e)
Use of Appropriate Intonation

children
(N=25)
Frequently 3 2
Some times 2 3
Rarely 1 10
Monotonous 0 10
26
Table 6(f)
Emotional Reaction to the Theme of the Story

children (N=25)
Identified with the theme of the story and sufficient 4 2

emotional expression
Reacted appropriately to the theme of the story 3 0

with moderate emotional expression
Showed low level of emotional expression 2 8
Showed least emotional expression 1 8
No emotional expression 0 7
Fifty percent of the students with autism had difficulty in logical thinking. Their test Age on
picture Arrangement sub-test of WISC varied from 4.10 to 7.02 years. The subjects with average
ability in verbal description had a Test Age ranging from 7.06 to 8.10 tears and those with above
average ability had a Test Age ranging from 8.10 to 15.06 indicating a direct linear relationship
between verbal description of story and arrangement of pictures in a logical sequence.
Thirty two percent of the subjects spontaneously narrated the story. The subjects who
needed prompting at each stage had Test Age ranging from 4.10 to 6.06 years. In the case of
other two categories there was much overlapping in the Test Age.
A majority of students with autism were brief in their description, the nature of which
does not seem to correlate with the Test Age.
Rarely did the students with autism use natural gestures. Only12% of the subjects used
natural gestures sometimes and the remaining 88% used rarely. This shows total lack of use of
natural gestures is not a feature of IWASD.
27
Majority of the subjects of the study lacked proper intonation while narrating the stories.
Majority of the subjects of the study could express the emotions only to certain extent
(56%) and 28% did not express any emotions. It is interesting to note that two subjects showed
personal interest in the themes of the stories. They narrated some incidents from their life
experience, which were relevant to the theme. Out of these two, one was curious to understand
the stories. She asked a series of questions to the investigator in order to make herself clear. The
number of subjects who exhibited the remaining levels of interest in the stories was almost same.
Difficulty in interaction with others among individuals with autism was noticed by
Goldfarts, Braunstein and Lorge (1956); Fay and Schular, (1980). Their findings support the
observations made by Wetherby (1986) that the communicative behaviour of children with
autism was greater with their teachers than with their classmates. Similarly Bernard-Opitz (1982)
observed that a child with autism interacted more with his mother and a clinician than with an
unfamiliar adult. This feature can be noticed among the subjects of different age. Thus the
rapport established with the autistics is also an important factor in communication. The
investigator stayed in the same premises of the schools and established sufficient rapport with
them. This made the subjects to interact with her freely.
The subjects of the study were grouped unto three categories namely above average,
average & below average on the basis of the ratings on verbal expression. Number of subjects in
each groups is given in the Table 6(g). It shows that emotional expression , use of natural
guestures and intonation are more difficult to the IWASD than other areas. This finding supports
the observations made by previous investigators.
28
Table.6 (g)
Number of subjects exhibiting different levels of performance in Verbal Expression

(PAT-WISC)
Different Components
Ability Fluency Details of Frequenc Use of Emotion

Levels of N to tell in verbal description y of use appropria al
Performa story expressio of te reaction
-nce 25 in n natural Intonation to theme
logical gestures of the
manne story
r
Above 5 8 4 0 2 2
average
Average 8 7 10 3 3 0
Below 12 10 11 22 20 23
average
By clubbing the ratings on different components raw scores were obtained for the Verbal
Expression for the subjects. A matrix has been prepared to find out the number of subjects who
exhibited same/different level of performance on both the components of PAT-WISC, namely
arranging the pictures in the proper order and description of the stores (non verbal and verbal
expression components).
29
Table. 7
Matrix of the Number. of subjects exhibiting different levels of Performance in TA on PAT-

WISC and Raw Scores on Verbal Expression
Raw Scores for TA on PAT- WISC

Verbal Expression
Extremely Low 5 1 - - - - 6
Moderately Low 4 1 - 5
Low Average 1 - - - - - 1
2 - 1 3 - - - 6
Average
High Avg 1 - - - 1 - 2
Mod High 2 1 2 - - - - 5
Extremely High 0 - - - - - - 0
Total 15 3 3 3 0 1 0 25
30
The matrix above reveals that only 9 out of 25 (36%) of the subjects exhibited same
levels of performance and the remaining 64% differed in the levels.
Performance on Boehm Tests of Basic Concepts (BTBC)
Since BTBC is meant for younger children (Pre school to Grade II) it is expected that all
the subjects of the study should perform at the mastery level 100%). But only one subject
attained mastery in all the basic concepts. On the basis of the raw scores obtained on the total
test and different sub components the performance of the subjects were classified into different
levels. The Table 8 shows the results.
Table. 8
Number of Individuals Performed at different Levels on BTBC
Type of Concepts Mastery Level Low Avg Mod Low Ext Low
(100%)
(99 to 80%) (79 to 50%) (< 49%)
BTBC Total Test 1 10 9 5
Spatial Concepts 4 11 7 3
Temporal Concepts 8 0 10 7
Quantitative concepts 2 5 13 5
Miscellaneous concepts 2 5 7 11
Considering the first two levels it can be understood that Spatial concepts were relatively
easier to autistics than other categories of concepts. The temporal concepts and miscellaneous
concepts were most difficult to majority of them. Normal children are capable of attaining these
concepts casually on the basis of their day-to-day experience or with minimum instruction in the
structured situation. Previous research has shown that many concepts are actually learned by
normal children during preschool years (Beech, 1981) Possible reasons for lack of
comprehension of basic concepts on the BTBC can come from various sources, such as lack of
knowledge of concept labels or vocabulary deficits, the complexity of directions, inadequate
auditory memory of sentences, or a difficult level of abstraction and deficits in spatial perception
31
(Björk Gísladóttir Thelma, 2010). These explanations may be true in the case of Individuals with
ASD. It is evident that they need to be taught these concepts through systematic procedures,
which incorporate the essential principles of teaching them.
Sentence Comprehension Test (SCT)
Since SCT is meant for younger children (3-5 years), it is expected that all the subjects of
the study should perform at the mastery level (100%). But only eight (32%) subjects
comprehended all the sentences correctly. Among the remaining 17 subjects, three (12%)
committed only one error. These three were close to mastery level. On the basis of the raw scores
obtained on the test the performance of the subjects were classified into different levels. The
Table 9 shows the results
Table: 9
Number of Individuals Performed at different Levels on SCT
Levels of Mastery Level Low Average Mod Low Ext Low

(100%)
Performance (99 to 80%) (79 to (<49%)
50%)
No. of subjects 8 13 3 1
The number of different types of errors and number of subjects who committed such
errors are given in the Table 9(a).
32
Table. 9(a)
Error Analysis on Sentence Comprehension Test
Type of Errors No. of children who Total no. of

committed errors errors
Subject error 4 9
Verb error 2 3
Object error 0 0
Subject – verb error 1 1
Adjective error 9 15
Singular error 3 6
Future tense 1 1
Past tense 7 11
Positive error 2 2
Active error 14 28
Prepositions
In 1 1
On 1 1
By 8 8
Under 0 0
Active error was committed by a majority of students with autism followed by adjective error,
past tense error, subjective error, and, preposition – by respectively. The results have educational
implications for the development syntax among autistics.
A matrix has been prepared to find out the number of subjects who exhibited same/different level
of performance on both BTBC and SCT as both of them are meant for younger children. Table
10 shows the results.
33
Table. 10
Matrix of Number of subjects exhibiting different levels of Performance on BTBC and SCT
Performance on SCT Performance on BTBC
Mod Low Avg Mastery Total

Low level
Extremely Low 1 - - 1
Moderately Low 1 - - 3
Low Average 7 4 - 13
Mastery level 1 5 1 8
Total 10 10 1 25
The results shows only 6 out of 25 ( 24%) subjects performed at same levels in these
tests. There are more intra individual differences in comprehending the basic concepts and
sentences. Comprehension of basic concepts is more difficult to that of sentences for IWASD.
Correlation between Performance on BPVS and Different Criterion Measures
Coefficients of correlation between various Criterion measures of the study were

computed through Pearson’s product moment correlation concepts employed in the study are
computed. The results are given in Table 11.
34
Table. 11
Correlation between Different Criterion Measures of the study
CA VA/RS PAT BTBC SCT ERS
CA 1 0.1986 0.1652 0.2514 0.1305 0.00
VA/RS 0.198 1 0.6415* 0.5918* 0.497* 0.4727*

6 * *
PAT 0.165 0.6415* 1 0.8311* 0.5888* 0.7632*

2 * * * *
BTBC 0.251 0.5918* 0.8311* 1 0.8319* 0.7401*

4 * * * *
SCT 0.130 0.497* 0.5888* 0.8319* 1 0.6842*

5 * * *
ERS 0.00 0.4727* 0.7632* 0.7401* 0.6842* 1

* * *
*Significant at 0.05 level (two tailed)

**Significant at 0.01 level (two tailed)
The results suggests that except CA among all other variables there is positive correlation.
Between SCT and VA the correlation is at low level , in other cases it is at moderate to high
levels. This indicates that there is a parallel development among different aspects of language in
in Individuals With ASD.The observation that there is no significant correlation between CA and
other criterion measures supports the earlier the findings of Churchill (1978) and Rutter (1979)
that autistics may or may not show impaired overt speech but inevitably show impaired
language, usually to a severe degree.
The earlier investigators (Wassing, 1965; Locktyer and Rutter, 1970 Bartak, Rutter and
Cox, 1975; Tymchuk, Simmons and Neafsey, 1977) found that autistics have difficulty in
performing both verbal and non-verbal tasks requiring sequencing skills. They also have
difficulty in conceptualizing language (Rutter 1978a, 1978b). In order to find out the kinds of
abnormalities that exist among autistics in concept formation, Ohta 1987, examined some On the
basis of the finding of those studies, he inferred that impairment in determination of relationships
35
might be a characteristic disorder of infantile autism.The results of the present study are in
agreement with Ohta 1987. Further it can be understood that who have difficulty in receptive
vocabulary have difficulty in relational concepts also. The poor performance noticed in the study
on Picture Arrangement supports the observations made by some investigators (Wassing, 1965;
Lockyer and Rutter and Cox, 1975; Tymchuk, Simmons and Neafsey, 1977) on Picture
Arrangement Test (Sequencing Test). Since there is significant correlation between the
performance on picture arrangement test and other language tests,it may not be correct to
consider that performance on picture arrangement does not require verbal mediation as
interpreted by Mittler (1966).
To develop an insight about the extent of relationship among the different components of
verbal description of the stories partial Correlation was computed. The Table 12 given below
gives the details, which suggest that there is significant correlation among different aspects of
language development among verbal autistics.
Table.12
Correlation among Different Components of Verbal Expression (PAT- WISC)
Variable Logic Fluenc RC NG Intonatio ER ERS
s y n
Logic -Pearson cor 1 .820** .805** .471** .396* .691** .864**
-Sig(2tailed) . .000 .000 .010 .037 .000 .000
-N 25 25 25 25 25 25 25
Fluency -Pearson cor .820** 1 .848** .451* .448* .706** .875**
-Sig(2tailed) .000 . .000 .014 .017 .000 .000
-N 25 25 25 25 25 25 25
RC -Pearson cor .805** .848** 1 .455* .384* .775** .891**
-Sig(2tailed) .000 .000 . .013 .044 .000 .000
-N 25 25 25 25 25 25 25
NG -Pearson cor .471** .451* .455* 1 .541** .427* .599**
-Sig(2tailed) .010 .014 .013 . .003 .026 .001
-N 25 25 25 25 25 25 25
Intonation -Pearson cor .396* .448* .384* .541** 1 .611** .685**
-Sig(2tailed) .037 .017 .044 .003 . .001 .000
-N 25 25 25 25 25 25 25
ER -Pearson cor .691** .706** .775** .427* .611** 1 .863**
-Sig(2tailed) .000 .000 .000 .026 .001 . .000
-N 25 25 25 25 25 25 25
ERS -Pearson . .875** .891** . .685** . 1
cor 864** .000 .000 599** .000 863** .
- .000 25 25 .001 25 .000 25
Sig(2tailed 25 25 25
)
-N
**Correlation is significant at 0.01 level (2-tailed) *Correlation is significant at 0.05 level (2-tailed)
36
The Tables 13 (a) to (f) give the levels of performance of the subjects on different tests. It was
attempted to identify sub types among the subjects of the study on the basis of the extent of intra
individual differences among them..
Table. 13 a:
Levels of Performance of Subjects on Different Criterion Measures of the Study
Level of Level of Expression

Performance Performance Raw Score on
Subjects BPVS PAT-WISC BTBC-RS SCT-RS PAT-WISC
R MOD LOW MOD LOW EXT LOW MOD LOW MOD LOW
Y EXT LOW EXT LOW MOD LOW MOD LOW EXT LOW
X EXT LOW EXT LOW EXT LOW MOD LOW EXT LOW
S EXT LOW EXT LOW EXT LOW MOD LOW EXT LOW
Table. 13 (b)
Levels of Subjects on Different Components of Language

Subjects BPVS PAT-WISC BTBC-RS SCT-RS PAT-WISC
A MOD LOW EXT LOW MOD LOW LOW AVG MOD LOW
D EXT LOW EXT LOW EXT LOW LOW AVG EXT LOW
V EXT LOW EXT LOW EXT LOW LOW AVG EXT LOW
L EXT LOW EXT LOW MOD LOW LOW AVG MOD LOW
B EXT LOW EXT LOW MOD LOW LOW AVG EXT LOW
P EXT LOW EXT LOW MOD LOW LOW AVG MOD LOW
M LOW AVG LOW AVG MOD LOW LOW AVG EXT LOW
37
Table. 13 (c)

Subject BPVS PAT-WISC BTBC-RS SCT-RS PAT-WISC
J EXT LOW EXT LOW LOW AVG MAS LEV MOD. LOW
E EXT LOW EXT LOW LOW AVG LOW AVG HIGH.AVG
T MOD LOW MOD LOW MOD LOW MAS LEV MOD.HIGH
Table. 13 (d)

F MOD LOW LOW AVG LOW AVG LOW AVG MOD.HIGH
I EXT LOW LOW AVG LOW AVG LOW AVG MOD.HIGH
N EXT LOW EXT LOW LOW AVG LOW AVG MOD HIGH
K EXT LOW EXT LOW LOW AVG MAS LEV AVG
Z EXT LOW EXT LOW LOW AVG MAS LEV MOD.HIGH
38
Table. 13 (e)

O MOD LOW AVG MOD LOW LOW AVG AVG
U EXT LOW LOW AVG MOD LOW LOW AVG AVG
Q MOD LOW AVG LOW AVG MAS LEV AVG
C EXT LOW AVG LOW AVG MAS LEV AVG
Table. 13 (f)

H MOD LOW MOD HIGH MAS LEV MAS LEV HIGH AVG
G EXT HIGH HIGH AVG LOW AVG MAS LEV AVG
The Tables 10(a) to (f) reveals that some subjects are moderately or extremely low on all
the criterion measures, some are average or above average on all of them, still some others are
low in age appropriate tests and better in the tests meant for younger age children. One more
group ( two subjects-H & G) exhibited even above average performance in all or some
measures. Those two subjects can be considered as High Fuctioning or to be with Asperger
syndrome. In the study 10% exhibited these characteristics.
Conclusion:
The findings of the study supports the observations made in the previous investigations.
They strengthen the current thinking that there is considerable heterogeneity among IWASD as
far as their strengths and weaknesses in different aspects of language development. So we cannot
generalize certain findings to all the IWASD. It is possible to identify sub groups among them as
39
far as their language functioning is considered. All the subjects were drawn from the special
schools where sufficient language in put was given. Inspite of that majority had difficulty in
different components of language. This suggests that there is a limitation for the improvement
among them. The significant correlation among the criterion measures included in the study
suggests that language follows a holistic development pattern among the IWASD. Except one
subject out 26, all the others cooperated very well and followed the instructions during the
assessment by administering Standardized Tests. This implies that these individuals can also
meet the demands of the situation. This is a positive sign. There is a need to conduct the studies
in the area of written language also in this group. Since the children with specific language
disorders are benefitted by remedial instruction, similar principles and strategies can be adopted
with suitable modifications to improve the language functions of IWASD. Studies which attempt
such remedial programmes need to be conducted.
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Acknowledgement
The Author is thankful to all the Head Teachers, Teachers and Students of the Special Schools for
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RECEPTIVE AND EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES AND DIFERENCES

Research · April 2018

Post Doctoral Research View project

Part of Doctoral Research supervised by Ramaa S View project

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Research Paper Presented In 8th Annual Education And

Conference 05-07 March 2013 Bangkok Thailand

According to Frith (2008) autism is referred to as the autistic spectrum or autistic

In addition to learning disability, ASDs often occur alongside other difficulties or

Research studies on Communication problems among Individuals with ASD.

In studies on syntactic development in autistic children, a generalized delay was observed

Studies of Verbal understanding have focused on a narrow range of words limited to

Examination of relational terms in the spontaneous speech of a sample of high-

Individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) have significant difficulties in social

Tager-Flusberg, (2000& Tager-Flusberg( 2004) remarked that because children with

Heterogeneity of language abilities in Individuals with ASD

Subjects of the Study

The components of language assessed in the study were ability to comprehend

British Picture Vocabulary Test (BPVS) measures receptive vocabulary. It is essentially a

Picture Arrangement Test, subtest of WISC

Boehm’s Test of Basic Concepts

The subject’s knowledge is tested by presenting 50 sets of drawings of common objects

Sentence Comprehension Test

The Sentence Comprehension Test assesses the comprehension of following types of

3. Intransitive with adjective

10. Prepositions error –on, in, by, under

Performance on British Picture Vocabulary Scale (BPVS)

Number of children exhibited different levels of performance on BPVS (N=26)

Sl No. Level of Difference between No. of subjects

1. Extremely High > than 4.1 years 1

2. Moderately High 2.1 to 4 years 0

3. High Average 1.1 to 2 years 0

4. Average 0 to +/- 1 year 0

5. Low Average (-)1.1 to 2 years 1

6. Moderately Low (-)2.1 to 4years 7

7. Extremely Low (-)4.1 & above years 17

2. Cow (12 26 96.15

4. Spanner (21) 26 84.61

5. Arrow (23) 26 92.30

6. Forest (32) (collective noun) 26 84.61

9. Anchor (42) 24 66.66

10. Bolt (51) 21 66.66

11. Fern (57) 17 47.05

12. Ornament (58) 16 50

13. Steam (60) 15 80

14. Balcony (62) 14 78.57

15. Link (64) 14 64.28

16. Locket (66) 12 50

Mean Percentage 74.55

Sl No. Stimulus Word No. Percentage of

Chopping (24) 26 80.76

Tugging (41) (verb) 25 64

2. Emerging (71) (verb) 11 63.63

3. Grooming (72) (verb) 11 55.55

Mean Percentage 67.95

Sl No. Stimulus Word & No. Percentage of

2. Teacher (43) 23 65.21

3. Waiter (50) 21 61.90

4. Entertainer (59) 15 66.66

Mean Percentage 72.48

Sl No. Stimulus Word & No. Percentage of Children

2. Horror (28) 26 80.76

4. Disagreement (46) 22 72.72