Pragmatic abilities in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: A study with the ABaCo battery

BACKGROUND: Pragmatic disorders are a core problem in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite the clinical importance of detecting specific impairments, there are relatively few tools available to assess pragmatic abilities in these individuals. The present study aims to gain greater insight into the pragmatic skills of individuals with high-functioning ASD by using the Assessment Battery for Communication (ABaCo), a new clinical tool that assesses a wide range of communicative behaviors. METHODS: The pragmatic performance of 16 individuals with ASD and 16 control participants were compared. RESULTS: Participants with ASD had significantly poorer scores compared with healthy matched controls on all ABaCo scales, with the sole exception of paralinguistic production. CONCLUSIONS: ABaCo is an effective tool in identifying and assessing pragmatic impairments in individuals with autism spectrum Disorders.