الفهرس 
Chapter OneOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Abstract
High-functioning children with autism show a severe deficit in the development of pragmatics and hence have poor social communication skills. The current study investigates the interface between pragmatic language competence and theory of mind ability in high-functioning autistic (HFA) children in Egypt from a psycholinguistic cognitive perspective. It hypothesizes that verbal ability is not related to pragmatic ability in high-functioning autistics. The study aims to examine and assess pragmatic competence difficulties, and cognitive deficits of early, basic and advanced theory of mind in high-functioning autistic children in Egypt. It also aims to provide a valid tool of assessment that would tap on several dimensions of theory of mind that affects pragmatic skills. The study also raises few questions about the major pragmatic difficulties regarding theory of mind ability in high-functioning autistics; as well as the validity of the measures used. For this purpose, two valid measures are utilized; Theory of Mind Task Battery, as a direct measure applied to the children, along with Theory of Mind Inventory II, as an indirect measure of the ability in question via caregivers/parents’ perceptions. It follows a case-study approach. The sample of the study consists of 2 children previously diagnosed with high functioning autism, 1 female (7 years old) and 1 male (11 years old). The raw scores show weakness and lack of some of the abilities in question, such as understanding irony, white lies and other’s perspectives, as well as relatively some strength in other areas of theory of mind. The findings revealed that poor pragmatic skills are accompanied by a weak theory of mind. Further investigation for other cognitive affecting pragmatic skills and applying more assessment tools is recommended.