Implementação até a fase III do picture exchange communication system na emergência de operantes verbais em crianças com autismo

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by, in addition to other symptoms, communicative difficulties that affect social interaction. Such a failure in communication and linguistic skills can lead to the search for peculiar and primitive forms of restricted communication, developing problematic or adaptive behaviors. Due to this absence of speech, alternative means of communication can be opted for, such as the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), which has been frequently used with individuals with ASD, as an Alternative and Expanded Communication (AAC) tool, in work to stimulate social communication, language and the development of functional speech, with a robust number of scientific studies demonstrating its effectiveness. However, its use is still surrounded by myths about inhibiting the development of vocal communication. The objective of the present study is to verify the effects of a picture exchange communication teaching procedure (PECS) on the emergence of vocal responses, in accordance with the proposal for analyzing verbal behavior in children with ASD. Three participants, aged between 4 and 5 years, were selected for this experimental study, using a pre- and post-test design using the VB-MAPP to measure vocal responses. Two children remained in the study and showed similar results. Both participants did not develop vocal responses, but showed significant progress in the reevaluation, when it was found that two of the seven skills assessed, namely tact and imitation, remained without recorded progress, bringing up the discussion as to whether having the ability of generalized imitation could be an important point in the emergence of vocal communication.