This paper examines the meaning of context for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by utilizing and transferring the meaning of context in Grice’s cooperative principle and Sperber and Wilsons Relevance Theory. To get into the topic, the common understanding of the term “context”, the variety in which this term can be used and its typical function in linguistics will be observed in the first chapter. The main part of this paper will be concerned with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
In order to investigate the meaning of context for affected people, the diagnostic symptoms and associated communication disorders have to be analyzed at first. Afterwards, these impairments will be applied to Grice’s cooperative principle and Sperber and Wilsons Relevance theory, which both provide a framework for getting to the bottom of the meaning of context for people with ASD. Afterwards, empirical data, in the form of interview transcripts, will be used to substantiate the previous discoveries. A summary of all findings and their connections will be provided in the conclusion.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Context
3. Autism Spectrum Disorder
4. Social Communication Disorder
4.1 Worldmaking
4.2 Pragmatic Impairments
4.2.1 Conversational Implicature and Grice’s Cooperative Principle
4.2.2 Relevance Theory
4.2.3 Case Studies
5. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This research paper examines the role and understanding of context for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), specifically by applying Grice’s Cooperative Principle and Sperber and Wilson’s Relevance Theory. It explores how pragmatic impairments and deficits in Theory of Mind affect the communicative abilities and information processing of those on the autism spectrum.
- Theoretical definitions of context and its role in human interaction.
- Clinical characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder and associated communication deficits.
- Application of Gricean maxims to explain pragmatic difficulties in ASD.
- Relevance Theory as a framework for understanding communicative breakdown.
- Analysis of empirical interview transcripts to identify specific pragmatic violations.
Excerpt from the Book
TRANSCRIPT 1
Helen waited all year for Christmas, because she knew at Christmas she could ask her parents for a rabbit. Helen wanted a rabbit more than anything in the world. At last Christmas Day arrived, and Helen ran to unwrap the big box her parents had given her. She felt sure it would contain a little rabbit in a cage. But when she opened it, with all the family standing round, she found her present was just a boring old set of encyclopedias, which Helen did not want at all! Still, when Helen's parents asked her how she liked her Christmas present, she said, "It's lovely, thank you. It's just what I wanted."
Is it true, what Helen said?
Why did she say that to her parents?
One subject answered, "she thought it was a rabbit, and she didn't know she didn't want the book" (Happé 1994: 143) and another one thought Helen was truly happy about her present "because the book was all about rabbits." (Happé 1994: 145). These answers demonstrate the subjects’ inability to use the story’s context in order to understand Helen’s intentions which finally led to her white lie. Neither could they identify Helen’s lie nor could they put themselves into the position of Helen or her parents. The subjects did not take into account various elements of the story that would have helped them to gain insight into Helen’s state of mind. They were not able to understand that Helen did not want to hurt her parents feelings or to appear unthankful and thus decided to lie instead. This experimental task displays the low tendency of persons affected with ASD of applying ToM, which is linked to various other pragmatic problems (Perkins 2010: 232).
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: This chapter introduces the essential role of context in understanding reality and sets the objective of analyzing the meaning of context for individuals with ASD using linguistic theories.
Context: This section provides a definition of context from various scientific perspectives, including linguistics and cognitive science, and highlights its importance in sense-making.
Autism Spectrum Disorder: This chapter defines ASD as a neurodevelopmental disorder and outlines its major symptom areas, focusing on social interaction and language comprehension deficits.
Social Communication Disorder: This section details specific pragmatic communication difficulties, exploring the "Theory of Mind" deficits, Grice’s maxims, Relevance Theory, and analyzing real-world transcripts of autistic individuals.
Conclusion: This final chapter synthesizes the findings, confirming that context holds a unique and often challenging significance for individuals with ASD, which severely impacts their ability to maintain effective conversation.
Keywords
Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD, Context, Pragmatics, Theory of Mind, ToM, Grice’s Cooperative Principle, Relevance Theory, Conversational Implicature, Communication Disorders, Pragmatic Impairment, Social Interaction, Mind-blindness, Linguistic Context, Discourse Analysis.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The work focuses on how individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) process and apply context during social interaction, and why they often struggle with standard communicative principles.
What are the primary theoretical frameworks used?
The research relies on H.P. Grice’s Cooperative Principle (including his maxims of quantity, quality, relation, and manner) and Sperber and Wilson’s Relevance Theory.
What is the central research question?
The paper explores the meaning of context for people with ASD and how deficits in their Theory of Mind lead to specific pragmatic failures in everyday communication.
Which scientific method is applied?
The author uses a qualitative analysis approach, applying established pragmatic frameworks to analyze empirical data, specifically interview transcripts of children and adolescents with ASD.
What does the main part of the paper cover?
The main section covers the clinical definition of ASD, the concept of social communication disorders, the mechanics of "Theory of Mind," and the detailed analysis of two case study transcripts.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Autism Spectrum Disorder, Pragmatics, Theory of Mind, Grice’s Cooperative Principle, Relevance Theory, and Context Blindness.
How do "Theory of Mind" deficits influence conversation for those with ASD?
These deficits mean individuals with ASD often fail to attribute mental states, such as intentions or beliefs, to their conversation partners, leading to difficulties in understanding non-literal speech or relevant context.
What do the analyzed transcripts reveal about communication in ASD?
The transcripts demonstrate that individuals with ASD frequently violate Gricean maxims—particularly quantity and relation—because they do not adjust their contributions to the listener's level of knowledge or the conversational context.
What is the primary conclusion regarding "context" in ASD?
The author concludes that while individuals with ASD can detect context, they struggle to integrate it into discourse, which impairs their ability to "weave and join together" information in effective communication.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Jasmin Haddad (Autor:in), 2020, The Meaning of Context for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/976076
