At the cognitive level, current research suggests that language impairment in verbal children with ASD involves deficits in phonological working memory, as evident on tests of nonsense word repetition. The areas of language that are most affected in this group include complex syntax and morphology related to marking tense (Tager-Flusberg et al., 2005). There is also considerable evidence from MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) studies of both children and adults that there are differences in volume and asymmetry in language regions of the cortex, specifically Broca's and Wernicke's areas. Recent studies suggest that these differences do not necessarily track with degree of language impairment, though there are conflicting findings in the literature. Importantly, most of the participants in cognitive and neuroimaging studies of ASD have been adults and individuals who have relatively intact language. Far less is known about the processes (either cognitive or neural) that might be implicated in the minimally verbal group. This project is designed to address this issue using two different brain imaging methods and approaches.