Theoretical framework demonstrates a distinct cognitive phenotype in non-verbal autism, indicating that absence of language fundamentally alters cognitive architecture.
The possibility and extent of thought without language have been subject to much controversy. Insight from non‐ or minimally verbal humans can inform this debate empirically. Since most such individuals are on the autism spectrum, of which they make up a sizable 25–30%, an important connection between language and autism transpires. Here we propose a model which makes sense of this link and explains why the non‐verbal human mind, as present evidence suggests, represents a fundamentally different cognitive phenotype. This model views the relevant part of the autism spectrum as reflecting the breakdown of a cognitive phenotype of which language is an inherent element and which will manifest principled limitations in the latter's absence.
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Hinzen et al. (2019) studied this question.
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