PURPOSE: To analyze the functional communicative profile of children and adolescents with autistic spectrum disorders in two different language therapy environments which differ from each other on the physical environment. METHODS: Participants were ten subjects with autistic spectrum disorders, six male and four female, with ages varying from 4 to 13 years. For data gathering, eight 30-minute individual language therapy sessions were videotaped: four sessions in regular therapy settings (common room) interspersed with four sessions in a specific environment setting (NIC room), for one month. Results were registered on the Pragmatic Protocol, and statistical analysis was carried out. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the pragmatic profile presented by the subjects in the common room and in the NIC room. CONCLUSION: The physical environment studied did not significantly influence the functional communication profile of the autistic subjects, even though there were individual tendencies to present better performance in one room or another.
Language; Autistic disorder; Intervention studies; Social communication; Child; Adolescent
