Cognitive processing and linguistic reference in autistic children.

Mutism or echolalia and failure to analyze sentences for their deep structures are characteristics of the language behavior of autistic children. The experimental literature indicates that cognitive processes which underlie the construction of a lexicon or the learning of ordering rules may be disturbed in these children. The inability to coordinate visual and aural stimulation inhibits lexical development, while difficulties in sequencing and use of inappropriate sequencing codes inhibits the growth of a productive grammar. It is suggested that remedial programs which include training in these processes may prove beneficial, and that substitute modes of information processing which the autistic child uses may be exploited to teach language forms.