Idiom Comprehension Deficits in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder Using a Korean Autism Social Language Task.
10.3349/ymj.2015.56.6.1613
- Author:
Seul Bee LEE
1
;
Seung Ha SONG
;
Ju Hyun HAM
;
Dong Ho SONG
;
Keun Ah CHEON
Author Information
1. Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. kacheon@yuhs.ac
- Publication Type:Original Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Keywords:
High functioning autism spectrum disorder;
comprehension of idiom;
Korean Autism Social Language Task
- MeSH:
Autism Spectrum Disorder/*diagnosis/psychology;
Child;
*Comprehension;
Female;
Humans;
Language;
Language Development Disorders/*diagnosis/psychology;
Language Disorders/*psychology;
Language Tests/*standards;
Male;
Reproducibility of Results
- From:Yonsei Medical Journal
2015;56(6):1613-1618
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
PURPOSE: High-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) involves pragmatic impairment of language skills. Among numerous tasks for assessing pragmatic linguistic skills, idioms are important to evaluating high-functioning ASD. Nevertheless, no assessment tool has been developed with specific consideration of Korean culture. Therefore, we designed the Korean Autism Social Language Task (KASLAT) to test idiom comprehension in ASD. The aim of the current study was to introduce this novel psychological tool and evaluate idiom comprehension deficits in high-functioning ASD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The participants included 42 children, ages 6-11 years, who visited our child psychiatric clinic between April 2014 and May 2015. The ASD group comprised 16 children; the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) group consisted of 16 children. An additional 10 normal control children who had not been diagnosed with either disorder participated in this study. Idiom comprehension ability was assessed in these three groups using the KASLAT. RESULTS: Both ASD and ADHD groups had significantly lower scores on the matched and mismatched tasks, compared to the normal control children (matched tasks mean score: ASD 11.56, ADHD 11.56, normal control 14.30; mismatched tasks mean score: ASD 6.50, ADHD 4.31, normal control 11.30). However, no significant differences were found in scores of KASLAT between the ADHD and ASD groups. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that children with ASD exhibit greater impairment in idiom comprehension, compared to normal control children. The KASLAT may be useful in evaluating idiom comprehension ability.
