Comprehension of wh-questions among Jordanian children with autism spectrum disorder and specific language impairment

This study investigates the comprehension of wh-questions among Jordanian Arabic-speaking children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), specific developmental language impairment (SDLI), and typically developing (TD) children (aged 6-8 years). Using a binary picture-selection task (two- and three-figure options), the study compared comprehension of subject and object "who" and "which" questions. Results showed ASD and SDLI groups performed better on subject wh-questions than object wh-questions, with "which" questions posing significant difficulty for both groups. The SDLI group outperformed the ASD group overall, while ASD children performed better in three-figure tasks, unlike the other groups. The findings suggest that earlier grammatical competence influences later wh-question comprehension in ASD and SDLI children.

Hassan Mohammad Bani Issa, Jong Hui Ying, Yasir Bin Azam