About
ial is a refereed journal managed by scholars in the field of applied linguistics. Our aim is to publish outstanding research from faculty, independent researchers, and graduate students in the broad areas of second language acquisition, language socialization, language processing, language assessment, language pedagogy, language policy, making use of the following research methodologies (but not limited to): discourse analysis, conversation analysis, critical discourse analysis, critical race theory, and psychophysiology. ial publishes articles, book reviews, and interviews with notable scholars.
Volume 13, Issue 2, 2002
Articles
Interactional Contrasts Between Typically Developing Children and Those with Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, and Pragmatic Impairment
This paper begins by identifying certain features of sequential understandings which are oriented to within the interaction of typically developing young children from about the age of2;0 onwards. It then examines literature bearing on the interaction of children with autism, Asperger's syndrome, and pragmatic impairment which suggests a diminished regard on their part to local, on-line details of their interaction and a heightened involvement with bodies of knowledge which they bring with them to any occasion. These themes are explored in the context of the ways in which these children initiate interaction, ways through which they make conversational contributions, and with regard to interactional features which generate distress. The paper draws out how the contrasting interaction profiles of typically developing children and those with pragmatic disabilities can have implications for our ways of understanding both the development of children with autism and the acquisition of cultural knowledge by typically developing children.
Managing Interaction: A Conversation Analytic Approach to the Management of Interaction by an 8 Year-Old Girl with Asperger's Syndrome
This single-case study uses conversation analysis (CA) to investigate some oj the interactional difficulties faced by children with Asperger's Syndrome (AS). Through an analysis of a single telephone conversation between an 8-year-old AS child and an adult and a peel; it shows the level oj interactional complexity required in managing talk. It argues that although the AS child is, on one level, successful in phoning her friend to ask a question, the success of the illteraction relies in part on the other interactants and their willingness to accommodate her different conversational norms. The study demonstrates how CA can be a useful tool for understanding some oj the interactional difficulties faced by AS children and adults alike.