title: The Interface of Syntax with Pragmatics and Prosody in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
abstract: In order to study problems of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) with morphosyntax, we investigated twenty high-functioning Greek-speaking children (mean age: 6;11) and twenty age- and language-matched typically developing children on environments that allow or forbid object clitics or their corresponding noun phrase. Children with ASD fell behind typically developing children in comprehending and producing simple clitics and producing noun phrases in focus structures. The two groups performed similarly in comprehending and producing clitics in clitic left dislocation and in producing noun phrases in non-focus structures. We argue that children with ASD have difficulties at the interface of (morpho)syntax with pragmatics and prosody, namely, distinguishing a discourse prominent element, and considering intonation relevant for a particular interpretation that excludes clitics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech and Language Therapy, Technological Educational Institute of W. Greece, Meg. Alexandrou 1, Koukouli, 26334, Patras, Greece. aterzi@teipat.gr.
authors.forename: Arhonto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Terzi
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK. t.marinis@reading.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Theodoros
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Marinis
authors.affiliation: Second Psychiatric Department, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.|Kuwait Centre for Mental Health, Shuwaikh, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Kostantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Francis
mesh_terms: D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002663:Child Language; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003142:Communication; D032882:Comprehension; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D000067404:Social Communication Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Clitic left dislocation; Clitic pronouns; Discourse/pragmatics; Focus; Interfaces; Prosody; Syntax