When asking questions is not enough: an observational study of social communication differences in high functioning children with autism.
High-functioning kids with autism miss subtle back-and-forth at dinner—use natural family meals as a real-world intervention setting.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers watched high-functioning kids with autism eat dinner at home.
They counted how often each child started a topic, answered others, or kept a chat going.
They compared these counts to typically developing kids at their own tables.
What they found
The autistic kids spoke less often and added fewer new comments.
They also took fewer turns and replied less when someone spoke to them.
Even though they could talk well, the back-and-forth was thinner.
How this fits with other research
Warreyn et al. (2005) saw the same quiet starts in preschool play with moms.
Baixauli et al. (2016) pooled 24 studies and found weaker story-telling across the same group.
McClure et al. (2000) gives hope: they taught turn-taking and topic shifts, and conversation grew even though mind-reading scores stayed flat.
Together the papers show the gap is real, starts early, and can be narrowed with practice.
Why it matters
Family dinner is a free, daily probe of real-life social skills.
If you see few initiations or short turns, use that moment to prompt questions, comments, or story snippets.
Brief practice right at the table can turn an ordinary meal into intervention time.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This investigation examined communication patterns between high functioning children with autism and their families and typically developing children and their families within traditional dinner time conversation. Twenty families with a child with autism (3.5-7 years.) and ten families with typically developing children (3.5-6 years) were video recorded during dinner and their interactions were coded. Results revealed that children with autism initiated fewer bids for interactions, commented less often, continued ongoing interactions through fewer conversational turns, and responded less often to family member communication bids. Results are interpreted with respect to how communication patterns may be indicative of social communication deficits not previously examined in high functioning children with autism. Strategies for social communication interventions within the family and other natural contexts are discussed.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2009 · doi:10.1007/s10803-008-0642-y