Use of mental state words of school-aged children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

Objectives: The limited social-emotional ability of children with autism spectrum disorder children's can affect language use. This study aimed to investigate the use of mental state words in school-aged children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HF-ASD). Methods: The participants were 10 school-aged children with HF-ASD, 10 typically developing children matched for chronological age with the HF-ASD children (CA group), and 10 typically developing children matched for language age with the HF-ASD children (LA group). Language samples were collected through an individual interview procedure using ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2) questions. The total number of words (TNW), number of different words (NDW), and TNW and NDW according to the type of mental state word per utterance were measured. Results: The HF-ASD group showed a significant difference in TNW and NDW of mental state words compared to the CA group; and did not show a significant difference from the LA group in both. Regarding the TNW and NDW by subcategories of mental state words, there was a significant difference between the HF-ASD group and the CA group. Conclusion: The results of the study confirmed that the limited use of mental state words is maintained even after the children with autism spectrum disorder enter school age. The results of this study have implications for language and social communication assessment and intervention of school-aged children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder.