Percepção das mães de crianças com risco para transtorno do espectro autista quanto ao perfil comunicativo de seus filhos no contexto da pandemia

Abstract

Introduction: The identification of clinical signs of risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by the family itself is essential in the search for professional help, either for the diagnosis process or for intervention. With the context of social distancing imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, families began to spend more time with their children, which led to an increase in the perception of difficulties related to communication. Objectives: To characterize the perception of caregivers of children at risk for ASD regarding their children's communicative difficulties, in addition to investigating whether this perception is compatible with the speech therapy assessment. Method: This research was carried out through an observational study, whose sample consisted of eight mothers whose children had clinical indicators of risk for ASD and who were followed up in a brief telemonitoring project. The results were divided into two manuscripts, the first using the Questionnaire on Communicative Difficulties (QDC); and in the second, the Functional Communication Profile (PFC) and the pragmatics protocol of the ABFW child test were used. Results: From the results obtained, it was possible to characterize the main difficulties perceived by the mothers and verify that the participation in the telemonitoring program did not cause substantial changes in this perception. Furthermore, the communicative profile of these children was characterized and compared with the perception of their mothers. Conclusion: The instruments used demonstrated the ability to characterize the perception of mothers regarding their children's communication difficulties, contributing to the diagnosis and intervention process.