Assessment of pragmatic language in verbal and nonverbal autistic children

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• 作者：Ana Paula Botelho Henriques Dias^a ; ^{anapaula@nucleoevoluir.com" class="auth_mail" title="E-mail the corresponding author} ; Marcio Moacyr de Vasconcelos^a ; ^b ; Heber de Souza Maia Filho^a ; ^b ; Adriana Rocha Brito^a ; ^b ; Giselle de Paula Teixeira Vairo^a ; Lourdes Bernadete Rocha de Souza^c
• 关键词：Autism ; Autism spectrum disorder ; Language ; Language tests ; Speech and language therapy
• 刊名：Revista de Logopedia, Foniatría y Audiología
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：January-March 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：36
• 期：1
• 页码：15-22
• 全文大小：671 K

文摘

Language abnormalities in autism spectrum disorder show diversity in their interpretation as well as complexity regarding their evaluation processes. The contribution of the speech therapist in multidisciplinary diagnostic process emphasizes the need to assess the parameters of sociopragmatic nature.

Aim

To investigate the pragmatic language field of verbal and nonverbal autistic children.

Methods

Thirty-one children, between 3 and 7 years of age, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, had their pragmatic abilities assessed by the ABFW test (the language test for young children vocabulary).

Results

The total number of nonverbal autistic patients were 27 (87%). The communicative acts total in this sample was 2.4 per minute, and the communicative mean most commonly used by this autistic sample was the gestural mean. The communicative space occupied by children within the dyad was 47.7%. There was a statistically significant difference between the use of abilities that are categorized as interpersonal or non-interpersonal functions between verbal and nonverbal autistics. The comparison of each function between verbal and nonverbal patients showed statistically significant differences in the following functions:“Performative”, “Comment”, “Information request”, “Naming” and “Permission request” for the group of verbal patients, and “Exploratory” and “Game” functions for the nonverbal group. Use of “Self-regulatory”, “Exhibition”, and “Social routine request” functions was not encountered in this sample.

Conclusion

Although the verbal and nonverbal autistic children groups displayed discrepant communicative profiles, both groups showed a greater potential for pragmatic language in the setting of a naturalistic evaluation.