ERIC Number: EJ1417748
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1368-2822
EISSN: EISSN-1460-6984
Comparing Narrative Storytelling Ability in Individuals with Autism and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Linh N. H. Pham; Adrian KC Lee; Annette Estes; Stephen Dager; Susan J. Hemingway; John C. Thorne; Bonnie K. Lau
International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, v59 n2 p779-797 2024
Background: Narrative discourse, or storytelling, is used in daily conversation and requires higher-level language and social communication skills that are not always captured by standardised assessments of language. Many autistic individuals and individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) have difficulties with both social communication and language skills, and narrative discourse analysis offers an ecologically relevant approach to assessing those challenges. Aims: This study investigated narrative discourse in individuals with autism and FASD, as well as an age- and sex-matched comparison group. Methods and Procedures: Narratives from 45 adolescents and adults, 11 with autism, 11 with FASD and 23 age- and sex-matched comparison participants were elicited using a wordless storybook. They were then transcribed orthographically, formatted to the Systematic Analyses of Language Transcript (SALT) convention and scored based on the SALT Narrative Scoring Scheme (NSS), a standardised language analysis protocol. In addition to the NSS total score, which assesses the overall structure and cohesion of the narratives produced, local and global measures of language ability were also employed. The local language measures included the number of mental state and temporal relation terms produced, while the global language measures included mean length of utterance, total different words, total words, total utterances, rate of speech, the number of mazes (e.g., repetitions, 'um', 'uh' or self-corrections) per total word and the NSS total score. Outcomes and Results: Using the SALT "Language Sample Analysis" tool, our results revealed that on global language measures, group differences were found on rate of speech, number of mazes per total words and the description of conflict/resolution in the narratives produced. The autism group produced significantly more mazes per total word and scored higher on the NSS conflict/resolution category score compared to the FASD and comparison groups. Both the autism and FASD groups spoke at a lower rate than the comparison group. On local language measures of narrative production, all groups were comparable, on average. Conclusions and Implications: While many aspects of narrative discourse in the autism and FASD groups were similar to each other and to the comparison group, we observed group differences on global measures of narrative production and significant individual variability within groups, suggesting that narrative abilities considered at an individual level may provide important clinical information for intervention planning. Future research should also consider additional variables that influence narrative discourse, such as motivation, distractibility or decision-making of individual participants.
Descriptors: Narration, Story Telling, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Interpersonal Communication, Language Skills, Adolescents, Adults, Language Fluency, Conflict Resolution
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A