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. 2025 Apr;18(4):845-856.
doi: 10.1002/aur.70006. Epub 2025 Mar 18.

Paths to Common Ground in ASD

Einat Karin  1 , Nirit Bauminger Zviely  1 , Yael Estrugo  1 , Maya Sabag  2 , Ronny Geva  2   3
Affiliations

Paths to Common Ground in ASD

Einat Karin et al. Autism Res. 2025 Apr.

Abstract

Common ground (CG), the shared contextual knowledge serving everyday situations like conversations, is crucial for effective communication. This study delved into CG generation between peers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, N = 84) compared to Controls (N = 56) children and adolescents (ages 6-16 years) paired into peer dyads. We aimed to deepen the understanding of the mechanism involved in CG efficacy among peers by exploring the roles of Theory of Mind (ToM) and Vocabulary in CG formation during play. Participants engaged in a structured task probing CG production in an ambiguous setting. Findings show that ASD and Control dyads generate CG spontaneously, yet the Control group demonstrated greater efficiency by achieving common conceptualization faster and with fewer words. Age and CG measures were correlated, outlining CG development, and Path analysis models suggested independent contributions from Vocabulary and ToM to CG efficiency. Limitations include the task's structured nature, precluding a comprehensive assessment of language and visual perception abilities. Taken together, the findings highlight the potential for interventions targeting CG acquisition in ASD, which is crucial for daily life participation. Interventions could harness cognitive processes like vocabulary and ToM to enhance dialogue efficacy among children with ASD.

Keywords: autism; common ground; social interaction.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Tangram card paradigm. In the top image, the facilitator (on the left) tells the operator where to put each card according to the pattern visible only to her. In the bottom image, at the end of the turn, the participants compare the two models.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Group (ASD/Control) main effect for decreased (a) duration (seconds) and (b) verbosity (number of words) as a function of turn in a CG formation task. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Relative frequency (%) of effective and non‐effective conceptualization in ASD and Controls. Effective = the likelihood of group participants reaching a shared conceptualization within three turns. Non‐effective = the likelihood of group participants reaching a shared conceptualization after more than three turns (Clark and Krych 2004).
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Paths from diagnostic group to effective conceptualization and final turn efficacy via vocabulary, ToM, and final turn efficacy. ***p < 0.001. Effective conceptualization—creation of CG within three turns. Final turn efficacy—mean duration and verbosity Z‐score of final turns. ToM—ToMI‐2 standard score. Vocabulary—based on WISC‐IV Verbal IQ standard score.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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