Narrative production abilities of children with autism.

Abstract

Background and aims: Narrative abilities are crucial for effective communication and social interactions. Children with autism often struggle with narrative production and comprehension due to their unique developmental profiles. This study examines the macrostructure and microstructure narrative skills of Hebrew speaking children with autism compared to age-matched typically developing (TD) children, aiming to uncover specific areas of difficulty and proficiency.

Methods: The study included 64 children aged 6-8 years, divided equally between those diagnosed with autism and TD peers. Participants underwent narrative production tasks involving both fictional and everyday narratives, and modes of generating and retelling. Narrative comprehension was also assessed immediately after each task. Macrostructure analysis examined the organization and structure of the narratives while microstructure analysis focused on linguistic elements such as syntax and word use.

Results: Both groups exhibited comparable overall narrative production and comprehension skills. However, subtle distinctions were noted such that children with autism showed difficulties in creating complex narrative structures and integrating syntactic elements effectively compared to their TD peers. Despite the differences, children with autism demonstrated notable strengths, particularly in the retelling mode, where they sometimes achieved higher scores in the use of function words. Both groups achieved similar scores in narrative comprehension tasks.

Conclusions: The findings indicate that while children with autism can develop narrative skills comparable to their TD peers, they continue to experience specific challenges that affect their narrative production, particularly in syntactic complexity. Although not always statistically significant, these findings suggest that autistic children possess narrative abilities that emerge under certain conditions, emphasizing the importance of considering varied narrative contexts in assessments.

Implications: The study highlights the need for targeted narrative intervention programs that address the specific challenges and strengths faced by children with autism. Educational strategies should focus on enhancing syntactic construction and narrative structure to improve both academic and social communication outcomes.