Gricean Maxims and ASD Individuals on TV : A pragmatic analysis of individuals with ASD and their sensitivity to Gricean Maxims

Abstract: The purpose of this essay is to examine the way the flouting of the Gricean maxims is used to portray a fictional character with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This study analyzes a character named Sam Gardner from the television series Atypical. The study is based on written transcripts from six episodes of the TV series and was carried out qualitatively and quantitatively. The methodology of the study involved transcribing, counting, and analyzing the flouts used by Sam in these six episodes. The results suggest that Sam flouts all the maxims but flouts the maxim of relation most, with a total of 22 flouts, which can cause a problem in communication. Sam does not follow the maxim of relation as he tends to abruptly change the conversational topic to something else. In many cases, he changes the topic to something he is interested in, which is Antarctica and penguins. The second most dominant maxim in all six episodes to be flouted was the maxim of quantity, with a total of 15 flouts, as he gave either too much or too little information to the listener. The results of Sam’s limited pragmatic abilities fall into agreement with Fein’s (2010) claim that ASD individuals have pragmatic language deficits as they struggle to stay on topic and incorporate irrelevant details in conversations. This study further discusses how analyzing neurodivergent characters’ speech patterns can benefit teachers and students in a pedagogical setting.