title: Social language use in parents of autistic individuals.
abstract: Social language use (pragmatics) in parents of autistic individuals and controls was compared. Autism parents displayed atypical pragmatic behaviours more often than controls. Preliminary factor analysis suggested three parsimonious groupings of pragmatic abnormalities: Disinhibited Social Communication, Awkward/Inadequate Expression, and Odd Verbal Interaction. The pragmatic features observed in some autism parents are milder but conceptually similar to the social language deficits of autism. Possible reasons for familial aggregation of pragmatic language deficits are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Landa
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Piven
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Wzorek
authors.forename: J O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Gayle
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Chase
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Folstein
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003142:Communication; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012919:Social Behavior; D014705:Verbal Behavior