The Study of Different Aspects of Language Ability in 5-8-year-old Autistic children Compared to their Normal Peers

Autism is a neurological disorder which includes social – communicative and behavioral impairments. In this disorder, language abilities are impaired or completely absent. Autism is a spectrum disorder which means it shows itself in different ways.The purpose of this research is to study different aspects of language ability in five to eight (5-8) year-old Autistic children and compare them with their normal peers. For this purpose, using an available sampling,  twenty six(26) children with autism and twenty six (26)  normal peers between the ages of five to eight (5-8) were selected in Shiraz. Both groups were matched based on their age and sex. The research tool is the Test of Language Development (TOLD-P:3). This test includes six (6) major subtests that together show different aspects of language ability. In order to analyze the data, Wilcoxon, and Friedman Tests were used. The results have shown that the strongest aspect of language in both groups is semantics and the weakest one is the expressive language but the difference between the groups is significant. It means that children with autism are weak in all of the aspects. Thus, it can be said that in the autism group, the development order of different aspects of language ability is the same as their normal peers, but development is delayed in autistic children .