Chapter 12 Question #2

What does the research on pragmatic language difficulties of children with autism spectrum disorders imply for instruction in the classroom?

Let's start with a few vocabulary terms.

Pragmatics - the rules that govern the social use of language. (Kuder, 2013)

Autism Spectrum Disorders - a group of disorders that vary in severity, but share the features of impairments in social interaction, communication, and behavior differences.

Researchers detected deficiencies in pragmatic skills.

Which pragmatic skills?

Deficiencies were found in speech acts, listening, use of polite conversation, relevance of remarks, statements pertinent to the topic, and use of inappropriate or peculiar statements. (Kuder, 2013)

What methods could be used to strengthen pragmatic language skills?

Enhancing Pragmatic Language

• Frequent quality interactions with teachers.
• Responses to both verbal and nonverbal communication.
• Use of familiar conditions. (Kuder, 2013)

Another instructional method may include:
Applied Verbal Behavior

"Thirty years of research demonstrated the efficacy of applied behavioral methods in reducing inappropriate behavior and in increasing communication, learning, and appropriate social behavior," (AutismWeb, 2016)

Components of Applied Verbal Behavior

• Mands - requests such as "I would like an apple please."
• Echoes - verbal imitations
• Tacts - labels for items
• Intraverbals - conversational responses (AutismWeb, 2016)

Reflections:
While microteaching, I witnessed these methods in use. During snack time, students would have to ask for their snack. "I would like two snap peas, please." The teacher then modeled the appropriate response. Methods focused on building pragmatic language skills were interwoven into the daily routine. I noticed the paraprofessionals consciously modeling pragmatic language skills when conversing in the presence of students.

Reflections Continued
Students not only practiced pragmatic language skills in the classroom setting, but in local retail and restaurant settings as well. As children with autism are very concrete in their thinking these outings allowed them to practice their skills in the real world settings, which they will encounter.

Resources

• Autism Teaching Methods: Applied Behavior Analysis and Verbal Behavior. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2016, from http://www.autismweb.com/aba.htm
• Kuder, S. J. (2013). Teaching students with language and communication disabilities. New York: Pearson.
• Speech and Language Topic Categories. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2016, from http://www.naset.org/autism2.0.html#c8912