Referential Choice in Korean-Speaking Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Abstract

This study examines the referential choices in narratives by Korean-speaking children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and a well-matched typically developing control group in relation to discourse-pragmatic features. The arguments were coded for the categories of referential forms and accessibility features. The referential forms were coded as three types: (1) nominal forms, (2) pronominal forms, and (3) null forms. The accessibility features were coded as six types: (1) newness, (2) ambiguity, (3) absence, (4) animacy, (5) query, and (6) third person. The results reveal that both groups’ referential choices were highly influenced by accessibility features. However, a group difference was found in that the children with ASD showed overspecification and less ability to integrate various factors simultaneously, which implies atypical performance in pragmatics.