Analysis of pragmatic abilities of children with ASD and children with ASD and ADHD

Abstract

Introduction. Pragmatic impairments are present in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which have negative consequences in social and adaptive domains. One of the least studied issues is the role of comorbid symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Deficit (ADHD) in the pragmatic and discursive abilities of children with ASD. The aim of this study was twofold: (1) To analyse the similarities and differences of narrative and pragmatic abilities of children with ASD, ASD+ADHD and TD. (2) To analyse the discriminant capacity for pragmatic and narrative abilities of children with ASD and ADHD. Method. 89 children between 7 and 11 years participated in the study: 30 with a diagnosis of ASD, 22 with a diagnosis of ASD+ADHD and 37 with TD. Results. Both groups with ASD were significantly different from the group with TD regarding all pragmatic scales of the questionnaire filled out by the parents and all the narrative indicators. However, these aspects had poor power to discriminate between groups with ASD and ASD+ADHD. Conclusions. The addition of ADHD symptomatology did not entail a more severe impairment in pragmatic and narrative abilities, except for non verbal communication, more affected in ASD.