Comprehension of ambiguity for children with Specific Language Impairment and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Purpose: To verify and compare the performance of children and adolescents with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) using a formal, standardized test that assesses language competence, more specifically comprehension of ambiguity. Methods: The sample comprised 19 individuals aged 6 to 14 years, of both genders, divided into two groups: ASD Group (9) and SLI Group (10). Participants were assessed using the Test of Language Competence - TLC; Ambiguous Sentences subtest (Wiig, Secord, 1989). Analysis included the comparison of the total scores in both groups. Results: We found significant difference between the groups, with better performance of the SLI Group compared with that of the ASD Group. Conclusion: It was possible to analyze and compare the performance of both groups in a metalinguistic activity. We observed better performance of the SLI group compared with that of the ASD Group in the interpretation of ambiguous information.