BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Driving a wedge between communication and language learning in aut
 ism - Prof Mikhail Kissine (Université libre de Bruxelles\, Belgium)
DTSTART:20190523T153000Z
DTEND:20190523T163000Z
UID:TALK125374@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Julia Heine
DESCRIPTION:The role played by the linguistic input in language acquisitio
 n is one of the most debated topics in cognitive sciences. Nativist approa
 ches hold that the structural properties of the language input trigger inn
 ate linguistic knowledge. Contrasting constructivist models posit that an 
 inborn drive to communicate prompts children to gradually learn language s
 tructures from communicative experience. This foundational tension between
  nativism and constructivism may be illuminated by—but also illuminating
  for—language learning in autism. Autism is characterized by life-long s
 ocio-pragmatic difficulties\, which inherently compromise access to the co
 mmunicative function of language. A significant proportion of autistic chi
 ldren also develop receptive and expressive language with a considerable d
 elay or fail to reach functional verbal communication altogether. Dominant
  conceptions of language in autism\, as well as most intervention programs
 \, are inspired by constructivist theories and presuppose that enriching e
 arly joint attention and communicative skills is crucial to improving lang
 uage outcomes. However\, there is little evidence that improvement in lang
 uage levels in autism is predicted by fading difficulties in processing so
 cial stimuli. While active communicative experience is essential for langu
 age acquisition in typically developing children\, there are intriguing in
 dications that autistic individuals may learn language from non-communicat
 ive exposure to linguistic material. This non-interactive language learnin
 g processes centers much more on internal\, structural properties of the l
 inguistic input than on the intersubjective linguistic interaction. 
LOCATION:Faculty of Divinity\, Lecture Room 2
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR