A Cognitive-Linguistic Analysis of Language Disorders in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from Tanzeem-al-Lissan Special Education School Faisalabad, Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48047/HM.10.1.2024.317-333Keywords:
Autism Spectrum Disorder, cognitive-linguistic analysis, pragmatics, executive function, bilingualism, Faisalabad, PakistanAbstract
The paper has examined how cognitive processing is associated with language impairment in children with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at Tanzeem-al-Lissan Special Education School, Faisalabad, Pakistan. Employed a mixed-method research design. The study involved the linguistic and cognitive characteristics of thirty children (20 boys and 10 girls) aged between 5 and 12 years based on the Children Communication Checklist (CCC-2), Narrative Retelling Tasks, the Executive Function (EF) tests, and parental questionnaires. The quantitative results indicated that pragmatic and executive impairments were severe although most kids demonstrated moderate structural language capabilities. Pragmatic language showed a high level of correlation with EF (r = 0.68, p < .01), which proves that social communication is supported by cognitive control. The difficulties in turn taking, topic maintenance, and bilingual code-switching were identified with the help of qualitative observations. Bilingual children did a little higher in narrative and pragmatic tasks and it could indicate that multilingual exposure has a cognitive advantage. The paper also finds that ASD language disorders are intensely cognitive and socio-cultural, but not linguistic. It suggests culturally tailored diagnostic and treatment instruments, bilingual therapy and teacher training to provide effective intervention in the educational setting in Pakistan.
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