Development of communication skills in an adolescent with autism, using alternative communication: a case report

ABSTRACT Alternative communication has been successfully used in interventions to develop communication skills in children with ASD. However, few studies in Brazil have approached nonverbal adolescents with autism. This article aimed to demonstrate the impact of using an alternative communication system on the development of communication skills in a nonverbal adolescent presented with ASD. This is a single-case study with longitudinal intervention. Skills were assessed with the Communication Assessment in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ACOTEA). There was progress in communicative and behavioral skills. Receptive communications had a greater variation between the first, second, and third applications, increasing from 50% to 66.60% and then 83.30%, followed by social behavior, which increased from 45.80% to 70.80% and then 75%. The use of alternative communication with a robust communication system indicated evidence of the development of communication skills and social behavior in the adolescent with ASD that received the treatment.摘要：替代沟通干预已被成功应用于自闭症谱系障碍（Autism Spectrum Disorder，ASD）儿童的沟通技能培养工作中。但目前巴西地区针对非言语自闭症青少年的相关研究仍较为稀缺。本文旨在探讨使用替代沟通系统对一名非言语自闭症青少年沟通技能发展的影响。本研究为一项采用纵向干预设计的单案例研究，采用《自闭症谱系障碍沟通评估量表（Communication Assessment in Autism Spectrum Disorder，ACOTEA）》对受试者的相关技能进行评估。结果显示，受试者的沟通与行为技能均取得明显进展：接受性沟通技能在三次评估间的提升幅度最为显著，从50%依次提升至66.60%，最终达到83.30%；社交行为技能则从45.80%提升至70.80%，随后进一步升至75%。本研究证实，使用功能完善的替代沟通系统，可为接受干预的自闭症青少年的沟通技能与社交行为发展提供实证支持。