Evaluation of the social communication of children up to 12 years old with Autism Spectrum Disorder in a Psychosocial Care Center

Abstract

Objective: To characterize social communication in children up to 12 years old diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) treated at the Child Psychosocial Care Center (CAPSi) in Mossoró/RN. Methods: Exploratory, descriptive, quantitative, cross-sectional study conducted at CAPSi in Mossoró/RN. The data collection was based on the application of questionnaires to parents/guardians to characterize their socioeconomic conditions and their perception of their children. The Language Development Assessment (LDA) instrument for children was used, developed to assess the acquisition and development of language content (semantics) and structure (morphology and syntax). The questionnaires were coded, and the data were tabulated for further statistical analysis. Results: 33 children and 73 parents/guardians were studied. Most parents/guardians were female (95.9%), aged 30-39 years (mean age 37.6 years predominantly), with a partner (60%), with high school education (45%), and monthly income around one minimum wage (76.7%), having positive attitudes toward their children and noticing difficulties in their communication. In applying the questionnaire to the children, 63.7% presented results within the normal range, while 3% presented mild and 33.3% severe language alterations. Conclusion: Children with ASD attending CAPSi have language disorders in the pragmatic sublevel, and more than half of the participants did not have morphosyntactic and semantic changes.