TY - JOUR
T1 - Moving beyond binaries
T2 - Appreciating the complexities of autism and language learning (response to kissine)
AU - Arunachalam, Sudha
AU - Artis, Jonet
AU - Luyster, Rhiannon
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, Linguistic Society of America. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - We discuss three points relevant to Kissine’s (2021) target article on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and its implications for theories of language acquisition. First, we argue that individuals with ASD do have social communication abilities and that these are linked to their language abili-ties; therefore, ASD does not provide evidence that language competence and language use are dissociable. Second, we argue that typically developing children show remarkable abilities to learn new words in noninteractive situations, and thus these abilities are not unique to ASD. Third, we point out that even noninteractive situations can serve as models for, and can implicate, chil-dren’s social communication abilities. In sum, we agree with Kissine that children (with and without ASD) are skilled language learners, able to take diverse paths to learning and to benefit from many different kinds of learning situations. However, as to whether these abilities in themselves demonstrate a threat to constructionist approaches to language acquisition, we do not think that Kissine has accrued a compelling case.
AB - We discuss three points relevant to Kissine’s (2021) target article on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and its implications for theories of language acquisition. First, we argue that individuals with ASD do have social communication abilities and that these are linked to their language abili-ties; therefore, ASD does not provide evidence that language competence and language use are dissociable. Second, we argue that typically developing children show remarkable abilities to learn new words in noninteractive situations, and thus these abilities are not unique to ASD. Third, we point out that even noninteractive situations can serve as models for, and can implicate, chil-dren’s social communication abilities. In sum, we agree with Kissine that children (with and without ASD) are skilled language learners, able to take diverse paths to learning and to benefit from many different kinds of learning situations. However, as to whether these abilities in themselves demonstrate a threat to constructionist approaches to language acquisition, we do not think that Kissine has accrued a compelling case.
KW - Autism spectrum disorder
KW - Language acquisition
KW - Overhearing
KW - Speech-language pathology
KW - Word learning
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U2 - 10.1353/LAN.2021.0056
DO - 10.1353/LAN.2021.0056
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85121664234
SN - 0097-8507
VL - 97
SP - e161-e168
JO - Language
JF - Language
IS - 3
ER -