Abstract
This paper presents an argument that key aspects of the communication disorders in children with high-functioning pervasive developmental disorders are pragmatic in nature. Speech and language therapy for children with autistic disturbances or pervasive developmental disorders has a long history. In the past, intensive speech and language therapy was performed as the central treatment in the case of autism. As with other developmental disorders, such treatment in the case of autism is now conducted as part of a treatment for improving all aspects of communication. Though conventional articulation and word understanding training are important, it is now widely accepted that pragmatic disorders are at the core of language disorders in autism. It now seems that if speech and language therapy for children with autistic disturbances cannot improve pragmatic abilities, then they cannot form a comprehensive treatment for improving the communication abilities of autistic children. Consequently, new developments in speech and language therapy for autistic children which incorporate training in the pragmitic aspects of language usage can be expected.
