Functional aspects of communication: a longitudinal study of the first three years of life.

The aim of this multiple case-study is to present issues to the analysis and discussion of communicative development since the pre-verbal period. The case presentation starts with the description of the analyzed sample followed by the synthesis of data regarding the pragmatic aspects of six subjects, from the 1st to the 36th month of life. Data regarding the number of communicative acts expressed per minute, occupation of the communicative space, proportion of use of the communicative means and the communication's interaction proportion are included. The individualized analysis of the number of communicative acts produced per minute in each sample shows an increasing tendency that is almost constant, but also frequent individual variations. The occupation of the communicative space has shown larger and more constant variations that, nevertheless, continue to evidence evolution. The longitudinal follow-up allowed the observation of the proportion of the use of the verbal communicative mean and its essential role in the child's communication from the 21st month on. Since the 30th month the verbal mean is the more frequent but the gestural mean is still responsible for an important part of the communication initiated by the child. In what refer to the communication's interactivity, data show that the infant seek the interactivity since birth and that with age improve the quality and quantity of his/her communication's abilities.