Unveiling the silence: Insights into the language profiles of Indonesian students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Indonesian children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience communication disorders in inclusive classrooms. Equitable learning must be provided to all students, including those with ASD. To determine the right intervention, an initial study of the ASD language profile is needed so that teachers and parents can choose the right help for their children. This study aimed to observe and report the actual language competence (pragmatics, phonology, morphology, and syntax) of ASD students in Indonesia. Language competence was observed for 6 months in 2024. Nine students, aged 12-16 years (male=7, female=2) in three inclusive schools were observed, tested, and their language competency was recorded. The results of the observations were analyzed and classified as a form of language barrier. The student's language profile shows that there are disorders in pragmatics (understanding spoken and written information), phonology (difficulty in pronunciation of the sounds /t/, /s/, and /h/), morphology (using some affixes in words and disorders in variations of word, difficulty in using verbs and nouns at the same time), and syntax (difficulty in constructing complex and contextual sentences). Students also exhibit echolalia, or word repetition, when speaking and writing. Therefore, Indonesian ASD students experience language barriers in the classroom. These show up as unique challenges in their pragmatic, phonological, morphological, and syntactic abilities. With these findings, it is hoped that the language profile of the impaired will be taken into consideration to provide learning interventions according to the character of Indonesian ASD students' language barriers.