Brief Syntactic Analysis in Asperger Syndrome: A Preliminary Study

by Mohammad Ghaziuddin, Philip Thomas, Elizabeth Napier, Gaby Kearney, Luke Tsai, Kathleen Welch, and William Fraser, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders,(2000) 30, 67-70.

In the present study, we examined subjects with AS using a modified version of syntactic analysis, known he Brief Syntactic Analysis.

This study examined syntax in Asperger syndrome. Compared with controls with HFA, subjects with AS showed more complex speech patterns as reflected by the percentage of well-formed major sentences and mean maximum depth of embedding. Also, they tended to use longer sentences. Overall, therefore, these findings support the clinical impression that persons with AS have better and more complex speech than those with HFA, at the average age of 15-16 years. It is important to note, however, that AS cannot be distinguished from HFA on the basis of syntax alone.