A pilot study of the effects of a social-pragmatic intervention on the communication and symbolic play of children with autism

The acquisition of social communication skills is a major challenge faced by children with autism. This pilot study investigated the effects of the Stronger Families Project, a social-pragmatic intervention, on the communication and symbolic abilities of 16 children aged 2-4 years with autism. Standardized measures of the child's communication and symbolic behaviour were conducted by independent observers at a university clinic pre and post-intervention, and parents were interviewed to determine the impact of variables such as maternal stress and competence on the child's social communication. Changes in some communication and symbolic behaviours occurred following the Stronger Families Project intervention according to parent report. However, improvements based on ratings by independent observers were not significant. Results are discussed in relation to the assessment of changes in the social communication and symbolic play of children with autism following intervention using clinical observation and parent report

Interações sociais e proficiência motora em escolares do ensino fundamental

Este estudo discute características de crianças que ingressam no ensino fundamental. Mais especificamente, o objetivo do estudo foi analisar a proficiência motora dessas crianças em relação com o nível socioeconômico e as interações sociais. O trabalho foi realizado com 30 crianças, as quais foram analisadas a partir do cruzamento de dados provenientes de teste de proficiência motora, questionário socioeconômico, observação direta e sociograma. Os resultados apontam que existe significância entre índices maiores de renda e sociabilidade com proficiência motora. Entretanto, o estudo também aponta para os desvios em relação à tendência encontrada, refletindo sobre a necessidade em se analisar os fatores macroscópicos do desenvolvimento sem recorrer a determinismos.This study discusses the characteristics of Brazilian children enrolled in elementary schools. Namely, the main focus of the investigation was to analyze the motor proficiency of pupils attending the first year of primary education in relation to their socioeconomic status and their social interaction at school. The study was conducted with 30 children, who were analyzed based on crossing data obtained from sources such as motor proficiency tests, socioeconomic questionnaire, direct observation and a sociogram. Results showed significance when comparing indexes of high income and sociability with motor proficiency. Nevertheless, the study also points out to some deviation in relation to the trend observed, thus showing that there is a need for analyzing the macroscopic factors of development, instead of just recurring to determinism