- Social Pragmatic Communication Disorder is a disorder in understanding pragmatic aspects of language.
- SPCD is characterized by reduced verbal and nonverbal communication abilities that cannot be explained by low cognitive ability, whereas ASD includes communication problems, but also has restricted, repetitive behaviors (RRB’s).
- Communication problems in SPCD can include inability to communicate appropriately in different social contexts, inability to change communication to match context, difficulty following conversational rules, and difficulty understanding what is not specifically stated (DSM-5).
- RRB’s in ASD can include repetitive motor movements or use of speech or objects, inflexible adherence to routines, and highly fixated interests (DSM-5).
- One reason that SPCD became a diagnosis was to encompass individuals affected by language and communication difficulties that did not fall within the range of typical Specific Language Impairments (Amoretti 2021).
- One study led to implications that children with SPCD may diverge more in comprehension than children with ASD (Svindt, Suranyi 2021).
- ASD must first be ruled out for SPCD to be diagnosed and therefore they cannot cooccur.
- A study conducted by Ward et al. (2020) found that 19 of their participants met the criteria for an SPCD diagnosis, but 18 of those also met the criteria for an ASD diagnosis, so therefore SPCD was ruled out for the 18 participants.
- Weismer et al. (2021) found that children that likely had SPCD reported lower levels of RRB’s than children with ASD.
- A study comparing prevalence’s of DSM-IV and DSM-5 disorders found that children diagnosed with DSM-IV Autistic Disorder, Asperger Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder had 99%, 92%, and 63% DSM-5 ASD prevalence’s respectively whereas only 1%, 8%, and 32%, respectively, met criteria for a DSM-5 SPCD diagnosis (Kim et al. 2014).
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
Amoretti, M. Christina; Lalumera, Elisabetta & Serpico, Davide. (2021). The DSM‑5 introduction of the Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder as a new mental disorder: a philosophical review. History and Philosphy of the Life Sciences 43(4).
Kim, Young Shin, et al. (2014). A comparison of DSM-IV PDD and DSM-5 ASD prevalence in an epidemiologic sample. J Am Acad Child Adolescent Psychiatry 53(5).
Svindt, Veronika & Suranyi, Balazs. (2021). The comprehension of grammaticalized implicit meanings in SPCD and ASD children: A comparative study. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders 56(6).
Ward, Audrey; Boan, Andrea D., Carpenter, Laura A. & Bradley, Catherine C. (2020). Evaluating the rate of Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder in children at risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Children’s Health Care 49(4).
Weismer, Susan Ellis; Rubenstein, Eric; Wiggins, Lisa & Durkin, Maureen S. (2020). A Preliminary Epidemiologic Study of Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder Relative to Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Disability Without Social Communication Deficits. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 51.