Abstract
Characteristics of pragmatic language in children with high functioning autism were examined by studying verbal expression of the Japanese demonstratives ko/so/a. A transcript of talk of a 60 minute talk between two high functioning autistic children was compared with a transcript of similar length between two typically developing children. The typically developing children were matched on mean length of utterance in morphemes (MLU). The results revealed that children with high functioning autism used more ko-demonstratives and less so-demonstratives than typically developing children. Furthermore they showed a lack of making practical use of nonverbal clues. These results suggested the following three possibilities. (1) Children with high functioning autism failed to take others' viewpoint. (2) They had difficulty in the proper use of the demonstratives in context because of lack of making practical use of nonverbal clues. (3) Their talk reflected limited interest in other people.
