Pragmatic language impairment

Pragmatic language impairment (PLI), or social (pragmatic) communication disorder (SCD), is an impairment in understanding pragmatic aspects of language. This type of impairment was previously called semantic-pragmatic disorder (SPD). Pragmatic language impairments are related to autism and Asperger syndrome, but also could be related to other non-autistic disabilities such as ADHD and intellectual disabilities. People with these impairments have special challenges with the semantic aspect of language (the meaning of what is being said) and the pragmatics of language (using language appropriately in social situations). It is assumed that autistic people have difficulty with "the meaning of what is being said" due to different ways of responding to social situations. This assumption has been successfully challenged by non-verbal autistic self-advocates who use augmentative assistive communication and maintain on and off-line social relationships.