Interaction Between an Adolescent Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and a Caregiver: The Use of Polar Questions by the Caregiver and Responses

Abstract

This conversation analytic study explores how an adolescent diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) responded to questions from a parent. Examined were 230 minutes of video-recorded naturally occurring interaction between a mother and her 17-year-old son with ASD and, for purposes of baseline comparison, 20 minutes of interaction between a mother and her typically developing 18-year-old son, as they chatted in their respective homes. Analysis revealed that the adolescent with ASD responded with partial repeats of the previous question or with formulaic (echolalic) utterances. Deeper analysis of the responses that appeared to be echolalic utterances, revealed these to be displays of the boy’s interactional competence. This study suggests that it is only through a fine-grained analysis of response turns that the interactional competence of those diagnosed with ASD can be revealed. We also saw that the mother of the ASD son formulated her questions as polar questions with candidate answers aiding her son to easily construct his answers, highlighting the significance of parental question design in facilitating progress in interaction.