The acquisition of grammatical morphemes in autistic children: a critique and replication of the findings of Bartolucci, Pierce, and Streiner, 1980.

The correct use of 13 morpheme rules by a group of 16 autistic children was investigated. The percentages of different morphemes used correctly correlated significantly with the results reported in an earlier study of Bartolucci, Pierce, and Streiner (1980), and internal consistency among the autistic children suggested some evidence of rule learning. As in the Bartolucci study, there were no significant correlations with the data presented by DeVilliers and DeVilliers (1973) for younger children. However, the conclusions drawn by Bartolucci et al. regarding the deviant nature of syntax acquisition by autistic children are questioned on various methodological grounds. More satisfactory ways of comparing language development in different groups of children are discussed.