OBJECTIVE: To analyze the dialogic processes of six autistic adolescents during speech-language therapy about their life stories, searching for support for pediatricians and speech-language therapists to work with their families in order to improve their development. METHODS: Data collection was carried out from video recordings of two speech-language therapy sessions with six subjects diagnosed with global development delay (three with autistic disorder and three with Asperger's disorder). The recordings were transcribed and data were separated into five themes. The analyses were based on qualitative research approach, in the context of the historical-cultural theory and the semiotic-indiciary paradigm. RESULTS: The following categories emerged from data collection: leisure, school level, social group, childhood facts, adolescence experiences and interests. Such categories reflected the experiences lived by the subjects and the way they signify the world and are signified by others. These categories allowed us to list the difficulties experienced by these subjects and their families. CONCLUSIONS: The patients' indications reveal the need for continuous guidance about the aspects outlined in the categories, from the very moment that diagnosis is received, allowing the individual to have a more effective social participation and linguistic-cognitive development. The pediatrician and the speech-language therapist are the professionals to provide such guidance, once they are the first to work with autistic children and to actively participate of their lives, from the moment of diagnosis until adolescence.
child development disorders, pervasive; language; social group; adolescent
