title: Idiom Comprehension Deficits in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder Using a Korean Autism Social Language Task.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  High-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) involves pragmatic impairment of language skills. Among numerous tasks for assessing pragmatic linguistic skills, idioms are important to evaluating high-functioning ASD. Nevertheless, no assessment tool has been developed with specific consideration of Korean culture. Therefore, we designed the Korean Autism Social Language Task (KASLAT) to test idiom comprehension in ASD. The aim of the current study was to introduce this novel psychological tool and evaluate idiom comprehension deficits in high-functioning ASD.
  
  
  METHODS
  The participants included 42 children, ages 6-11 years, who visited our child psychiatric clinic between April 2014 and May 2015. The ASD group comprised 16 children; the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) group consisted of 16 children. An additional 10 normal control children who had not been diagnosed with either disorder participated in this study. Idiom comprehension ability was assessed in these three groups using the KASLAT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both ASD and ADHD groups had significantly lower scores on the matched and mismatched tasks, compared to the normal control children (matched tasks mean score: ASD 11.56, ADHD 11.56, normal control 14.30; mismatched tasks mean score: ASD 6.50, ADHD 4.31, normal control 11.30). However, no significant differences were found in scores of KASLAT between the ADHD and ASD groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that children with ASD exhibit greater impairment in idiom comprehension, compared to normal control children. The KASLAT may be useful in evaluating idiom comprehension ability.
authors.affiliation: Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Seul Bee
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Ha
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Ju Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Ham
authors.affiliation: Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Ho
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. kacheon@yuhs.ac.
authors.forename: Keun-Ah
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Cheon
mesh_terms: D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D032882:Comprehension; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D007807:Language Tests / Q000592:standards*; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: High functioning autism spectrum disorder; Korean Autism Social Language Task; comprehension of idiom