Pragmatic difficulties in children with autism associated with childhood epilepsy.

Abstract

Purpose: The intention of this study was to examine specific pragmatic functions in 35 children, aged 6-11 years, with a history of epilepsy (mean length of duration 6.5 years), who demonstrated autistic features, ASD or autistic regression.

Method: The children's ability to recognize and convey communicative intentions, conversational engagement and paralinguistic features were investigated using the Pragmatics Profile of Everyday Communication Skills in Children using semi-structured key-worker interviews. The association between weak or abnormal prosody and epileptic focus was also examined.

Results: Findings demonstrate a strong association between early onset epilepsy with autism or autistic regression and additional pragmatic impairment. A number of children exhibited weak or abnormal prosody in association with temporal lobe EEG abnormalities, particularly in the non-dominant hemisphere. Consideration is given to recent studies of the converse--the presence of a reducing prevalence of epilepsy in the autism population and acknowledgment of implications for learning within the autistic population.