Language Autism Language and children with autism:

Sources of cognitive deficits

Deficits in language development are one of the most commonly-noted, early signs a child may be autistic. Autistic children often fail to meet appropriate developmental milestones in language. High-functioning autistics or individuals with Asperger's Syndrome usually do not show developmental delays in using language, but may communicate in an inappropriate manner. "Autism is diagnosed on the basis of three primary areas of impairment: social functioning, language and communication, and repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests or activities...Research on autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders suggests that the social and communication impairments are unique and specific deficits, that define the autism phenotype" (Tager-Flusberg 2006).

The extent to which social and communicative impairments in autism are interlinked remains hotly debated. It is generally agreed upon and noted by researchers and parents alike that there is a wide spectrum of difference in terms of language deficits of children with autism spectrum disorders. However, certain commonalities have been noted. Children with autism exhibit social impediments such as the inability to use eye contact or to converse in a reciprocal fashion with others; show a lack of spontaneity; have an inability to sustain reciprocal relationships with others at a normal peer level and cannot adapt to different social contexts socially. Language deficits include a delay of spoken language, a use of "idiosyncratic...

For example in one experiment:
... [Autistic] children were introduced to two dolls, Sally and Anne, who were placed in a diorama in which the experimenter enacted a scene. Sally placed a marble in her basket, and left the room, leaving the marble behind. Then Anne took the marble from the basket and put it in a box. The child was then asked to predict where Sally would look for the marble when she returned. To answer correctly, the child must disregard his own knowledge of reality (that the marble is now in the box) and respond that Sally, who did not witness Anne's action, will look in the basket, where she last saw it. In Baron-Cohen et al.'s study 80% of the children with autism failed this test question (Tager-Flusberg 2006).

The inability to project one's self into the minds of others is a symptom, not a cause of autism: "it is clear that autism emerges much earlier than age 4 when children are first able to pass these kinds of cognitive tasks" and some autistic children do pass 'theory of mind' tests (Tager-Flusberg 2006). Because the inability to empathize may be linked to autistic difficulties in mimicking the behavior of others, including communication, mirroring therapy in which the child is asked to mirror the…