Observation of Classroom Social Communication: Do Children With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Spend Their Time Differently Than Their Typically Developing Peers?

Abstract

Purpose: In this research, the authors examined how social communication profiles during classroom activities differed between children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders ( FASD) and typically developing pair-matched peers. Method: Twelve pairs of children were observed in their classrooms 20 min a day for 4 days across 2 weeks. Coders documented classroom social communication by recording performance on handheld computers using the Social Communication Donaldson, 2006). The Social Communication Coding System consists of 6 behavioral dimensions (prosocial/engaged, passive/disengaged, irrelevant, hostile/coercive, assertive, and adult seeking) that account for all verbal and nonverbal productions during a specified timeframe. The frequency of occurrence and duration of each dimension (as measured by proportion of time and average length of time spent performing each dimension) were recorded. Results: Children with FASD had significantly more occurrences of passive/disengaged and irrelevant behavior, and the proportion and average length of time in these behaviors were larger and longer than those of their peers. Further, children with FASD had significantly more occurrences of prosocial/engaged behavior; however, the proportion and average length of time that they spent being prosocial were smaller and shorter than those of their peers. Implications: Results suggest children with mild FASD performed differently than their peers in regard to classroom social communication, which was consistent with parent and teacher behavioral reports.

Linguagem no transtorno do espectro alcoólico fetal: uma revisão

“…2015 Jan-Fev; 17(1):253-263 typical development and described the compromise in social abilities even during social interaction with their peers. Such compromise was described in individuals in a wide range of age groups, without improvement of this ability as participants became more mature in their development 17,35 .…”

“…As for the most compromised spoken language components, we note that the majority of studies mentioned the semantic 18,[21][22][23]25,27,28,[34][35][36] , syntatic 16,18,19,20,25,34 and pragmatic 17,18,27,28 components.…”

“…Studies on intellectual performance suggest that the total IQ of these individuals range between 20 and 86, with the lowest scores found in cases with FAS 9,10 , placing this disorder among one of the main causes of intellectual deficiency in childhood 11,12 . Memory and attention deficits, reduction of visual-spatial ability, executive and learning functions [11][12][13][14][15] and spoken-language development have been listed as part of the main neurodevelopmental alterations of individuals with FASD, and not exclusively of cases of FAS 16,17 . In order to learn about the research that has been carried out on the aspects of spoken language in this important neurodevelopmental disorder, this paper aims to conduct a review of the literature seeking to identify procedures and findings reported in the field of spoken language for this clinical condition.…”

“…milder physical signs and intellectual performance within borderline or slightly lower normality parameters [16][17][18][35][36][37] . This aspect was presented in a 1981 publication 18 .…”

Educational Needs and Care of Children with FASD

“…Often children affected by PAE have problems selecting and organizing relevant information to express ideas in a logical sequence [38]. Difficulties with expressing ideas in a cohesive manner would impact children's participation in class discussion and interactions with teachers and peers [38][39][40].…”