Language and communication: myths and evidences

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder is a very common developmental disorder nowadays. CPLOL celebrated speech and language therapy day on the 6th of March and dedicated this day to Communication in Autism. Based on this, we prepared a workshop within our association (ASTTLR) under this theme where ASD was approached based on the language myths and on the language evidences. The fallowing myths and evidences were discussed based on significant studies in the field: echolalia, language idiosyncrasy, personal pronoun usage, gestures, the gap between receptive and expressive language. Conclusions underlined that language development can be an important indicator in ASD, but it must be carefully approached as not all specific language development features can be by themselves diagnostic criteria.