Abstract

There is a great deal of research on the development of vocabulary and pragmatic skills in people with ASD. However, there is little scientific evidence about the relationship between these two areas. In this research, the aim is to find out the relationship between comprehensive vocabulary and pragmatic skills in people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). For this purpose, 9 subjects with a diagnosis of ASD aged between 5 and 12 years old took part in the study, who were evaluated by means of the Peabody Test in order to find out the subjects’ comprehensive vocabulary. In addition, spontaneous language was assessed by means of a recording in a clinical setting, and through an inter-judge evaluation, appropriate information was obtained on different levels of pragmatics: textual, enunciative and interactive. For this purpose, the Rapid Pragmatic Assessment Protocol-Revised (PREP-R) was used. The results indicate that, in most of the subjects, the age of comprehension vocabulary is higher than that which would correspond to chronological age. On the other hand, pragmatic skills correspond to the levels reached in comprehensive vocabulary. These results lead us to believe that the majority of participants could be compatible with a diagnosis of high-functioning ASD.

Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder, language, vocabulary, pragmatic