METAPHOR IDENTIFICATION IN CHILDREN WITH ASPERGER SYNDROME AND IN TYPICAL CHILDREN IN FRENCH LANGUAGE

Background: The Asperger Syndrome is a pervasive developmental disorder, characterized by impairments in communicative and pragmatic competences. In particular, difficulty understanding metaphor has been observed. This study concerns about difficulties on metaphor identification in children with Asperger Syndrome.

Objectives: 1/ Create an metaphor identification task and compare the performances in children with Asperger Syndrome and typical children. 2/ Constitute a data basis with the results of typical children. 3/ Objective the deficit on metaphor identification in children with
Asperger Syndrome by using a methodological tool.

Methods: 101 young typical children participated to this study in order to constitute a referred data basis. The children with Asperger Syndrome were recruited from « Centre de Ressources Autisme » of Child Psychiatric Unit of Hospital Ste Marguerite in Marseille (France). They are asked on metaphoric sentences identification task.

Results: The results in typical children show that the 6,5 to 7,5 years old typical children identify 39,4 % of methaphoric sentences, the 8 years old children identify less than 50 % of metaphoric sentences. The 9 years old typical children perform over 50 %, but they don’t reach 100 % on metaphor identification. Preliminary findings reveal a deficit on metaphor identification in Asperger Syndrome children.

Conclusions: We hypothese that the children with Asperger Syndrome present a particular process in metaphor identification and the results were discussed towards the theory of Weak Central Coherence.