The Embodiment of Social Communication Traits in Individuals with ASD during ADOS-2: Analyzing "How to Behave" and Processes of Intersubjective Adjustment

Abstract

This study examines how social communication traits of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are embodied in interaction through conversation and multimodal analysis of ADOS-2. The findings reveal that delayed acceptance, silences, and fillers following an examiner's task presentation indicate interactional troubles occurring between the instruction and task initiation. These phenomena manifest as a specific difficulty in verbalizing internal questions regarding "how to behave" and presenting them to the interlocutor. Furthermore, the examiner's explicit requests and "increments," along with the participant's subsequent responses, function as "intersubjective adjustments." These actions transcend institutional constraints and represent adaptive behaviors by both parties to the immediate context. This study suggests the importance of moving beyond one-sided assessments centered solely on the examiner's perspective. It highlights the necessity of adopting a qualitative lens that evaluates the adjustment processes and interactional dynamics themselves during diagnostic observations.