Conversation Analysis: A Tool for Analysing Interactional Difficulties Faced by Children with Asperger’s Syndrome

Abstract

Children who have been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome find social interaction difficult. As a result, children with Asperger's syndrome may find themselves socially isolated at school, especially given the importance of social interaction in developing peer relationships and in forming friendships. Even within the family, siblings and parents of a child with Asperger's syndrome may experience periods of interactional difficulty when trying to include the child into everyday family conversations. Not being able to express themselves easily to others may result in low self-esteem, loneliness, anxiety, and depression. This chapter focuses on individuals with Asperger's syndrome. It provides a descriptive detail of the condition to provide context for the empirical analysis. The chapter demonstrates how conversation analysis (CA) may serve as a useful pedagogical tool for practitioners to better understand the condition. Conversation analysis is a talk-in-interaction methodology that permits detailed analyses of the 'technology' of interaction. The chapter demonstrates how detailed transcriptions and analysis can show what is actually happening interactionally and how practitioners, or even the children themselves, can better understand what it might mean to be someone who finds social interaction difficult. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)