Social Pragmatic Communication Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder: Two of a Kind? A Narrative Review
- 1. Department of Neurolinguistics, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
- 2. Center for Language and Cognition, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Abstract
Recently, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) introduced social
pragmatic communication disorder (SPCD) as a new neurodevelopmental communication disorder.
There is a longstanding debate on the validity of this new communication disorder. SPCD has
been criticized due to a lack of empirical evidence showing that SPCD is distinct from autism
spectrum disorder (ASD). Indeed, SPCD shows clear overlap with symptoms of ASD in the domain
of social communication.
We present a selective overview of the evidence so far that has attempted to differentiate
between SPCD and ASD. The aim of this study is to investigate if there is evidence in th e literature
to distinguish symptoms of SPCD to that of ASD. The outcomes of this study can contribute to the
development of a more valid instrument for the diagnostic assessment of SPCD.
We were able to isolate differentiating features for both SPCD and ASD in the social
interaction and communication domain, as well as in the domain of repetitive and stereotype
behaviours. Nevertheless, it was shown that these deficits fall along a continuum, rather than
being discrete categories, with the ASD group demonstrating greater levels of impairment than
the SPCD group in all domains.