School of Communication Disorders and Deafness, Kean University, Union, NJ.
Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2022 Apr 11;53(2):584-597. doi: 10.1044/2021_LSHSS-21-00100. Epub 2022 Feb 28.
The aim of this review is to illuminate the connection between inferential skills and spoken language idiom comprehension (SLIC) with a focus on autism. Idioms are frequently occurring figurative expressions, such as feeling blue, on cloud nine, and all tied up, that have literal and nonliteral meanings.
In this review article, an overview of SLIC is provided, highlighting the importance of inferential skills and other pertinent factors and theories contributing to idiom acquisition in autistic children. The search criteria used included peer-reviewed journal articles from 1982 to 2021 to synthesize both seminal and current research on this topic. Though some articles selected for this review did not focus on idioms in spoken language, they were deemed necessary for analyzing various aspects impacting idiom development and comprehension.
Research shows that figurative language differences are a hallmark feature of autism, causing idioms to be interpreted literally. Occurring in everyday spoken and written language, idiom comprehension is essential for adequate communication in daily interactions. Poor inferential abilities directly impact SLIC and have negative implications on social and academic outcomes. Several factors contributing to SLIC have been highlighted in the literature, including transparency (semantic analyzability), familiarity, and context.
The comparable skills underpinning inferential comprehension and SLIC raise the argument that SLIC is incumbent upon intact inferential abilities. As such, autistic children will benefit from utilizing inference from context to deduce idiomatic meanings. Future directions for research and recommendations for improving SLIC in clinical practice are offered.
本综述旨在阐明推理技能与口语习语理解（SLIC）之间的联系，重点关注自闭症。习语是经常出现的比喻表达，如 feeling blue（忧郁）、on cloud nine（兴高采烈）和 all tied up（忙得不可开交），它们既有字面意思又有非字面意思。
在这篇综述文章中，提供了 SLIC 的概述，强调了推理技能以及其他相关因素和理论对自闭症儿童习语习得的重要性。使用的搜索标准包括 1982 年至 2021 年的同行评议期刊文章，以综合该主题的开创性和当前研究。虽然本文选择的一些文章并非专门关注口语中的习语，但它们对于分析影响习语发展和理解的各个方面是必要的。
研究表明，隐喻语言差异是自闭症的一个显著特征，导致习语被直译成字面意思。习语理解存在于日常口语和书面语中，对于日常互动中的充分交流至关重要。推理能力差直接影响 SLIC，并对社交和学业成绩产生负面影响。文献中强调了几个有助于 SLIC 的因素，包括透明度（语义可分析性）、熟悉度和语境。
推理理解和 SLIC 所依赖的相似技能提出了这样的论点，即 SLIC 依赖于完整的推理能力。因此，自闭症儿童将受益于利用语境推断出习语的含义。本文提出了未来研究的方向和改善临床实践中 SLIC 的建议。
