Language therapy results with children of the autism spectrum

Abstract

Communication disorders of children with autism spectrum disorders will probably follow them throughout life if they are not included in remediation and communication intervention programs. The aim of this research was to identify observed changes in the Functional Communicative Profile (initiative, interaction, functions and means) and in the Social Cognitive Performance (vocal and gestural communicative intent, vocal and gestural imitation, tool use, combinatory and symbolic play) after 6 months of language therapy. Subjects were 50 children and adolescents (mean age 9:3y), with diagnosis within the autistic spectrum attributed by a child psychiatrist, enrolled in a specialized language therapy program at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. All subjects were filmed twice, with a six-month interval, after the first six-months of the therapy onset. Statistical analysis of data used non-parametric tests with a significance level of 0.5%. Results showed that all subjects presented at least one progress index and that 96% of them presented progress in the Functional Communicative Profile. These results suggest that it is possible to identify objective improvement indexes after a relatively short period of language therapy with individuals of the autism spectrum. Objective information about therapeutic results may favor better integration of intervention procedures and therefore enhance the possibilities of further improvements.