Cognitive pragmatics and Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism is a neurobiological development disorder that affects, in one form or another, more than one in a hundred children. Autism is characterised by a “sociopragmatic” construct, i.e. a great difficulty in managing verbal and non-verbal interactions with others. In addition, a large number of these children have significant language delays and more than 25% of them never acquire verbal communication skills.
Mikhail Kissine is professor of linguistics and Principal Investigator of the ACTE (Autism in Context: Theory and Experience) research group at the Université libre de Bruxelles. As a specialist in cognitive pragmatics and clinical linguistics, he more specifically studies language acquisition in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The project supported by the Foundation, which combines linguistics and experimental psychology, aims to take on the scientific and societal challenge of helping to create adapted early intervention tools.
For more information: