Search the site

SH4_5

Laura Benincasa

Close-up of the doctoral student

Laura Benincasa

Ph.D. student
XLI cycle (2025-2028)
Linguistics and Language Teaching
Doctorate in Linguistic, Philological, and Literary Studies
Department of Italian Language, Literature, and Arts in the World (LILAIM)

Comparing Complex Syntax in DLD and ASD: Evidence from Passive Sentence Processing

Research on passive sentence acquisition has found these non-canonical structures to be particularly challenging in both typical and atypical language development due to their syntactic complexity. My research project investigates how monolingual Italian-speaking children with syntactic Developmental Language Disorder (SyDLD) and those with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Language Impairment (ASD-LI) comprehend and produce different types of Italian passive constructions. The study seeks to determine whether the two clinical groups behave similarly — possibly pointing to overlapping syntactic difficulties — or whether their error patterns diverge, strongly suggesting different underlying mechanisms.

Research Interests

Language Acquisition; Psycholinguistics; Language Processing; Syntax; Developmental Language Disorder (DLD); Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Back to top