Logrieco Maria Grazia, Annechini Emma, Casula Laura, Guerrera Silvia, Fasolo Mirco, Vicari Stefano, Valeri Giovanni
Department of Humanities, University of Foggia, Via Arpi 176, 71122 Foggia, Italy.
Department of Neuroscience, IRCCS Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù, Piazza Sant'Onofrio, 4, 00165 Rome, Italy.
Children (Basel). 2024 Dec 14;11(12):1520. doi: 10.3390/children11121520.
: Gestural production, a crucial aspect of nonverbal communication, plays a key role in the development of verbal and socio-communicative skills. Delays in gestural development often impede verbal acquisition and social interaction in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Although various interventions for ASD focus on improving socio-communicative abilities, they consistently highlight the importance of integrating gestures to support overall communication development. This study aimed to investigate the progression of gestural production in preschoolers with ASD one year post-diagnosis, taking into account whether they had received interventions for ASD. : This study followed 76 Italian preschoolers with ASD, aged 2 to 4 years, who underwent three different types of interventions or no intervention at all. Data on gestural production were collected using the MCDI, a standardized parent-proxy report. : The results indicate that all groups, regardless of intervention type, experienced increased gesture production, suggesting that interventions, combined with factors like time, symptom severity, and learning differences unique to ASD, positively influence nonverbal communication. This improvement may be due to various factors. On one hand, joint attention and socio-communicative interactions drive progress, while on the other, children with ASD may benefit from learning through non-socially mediated linguistic material. : These findings highlight the need to understand individual learning preferences and strategies for developing nonverbal communication skills in children with ASD. Identifying effective strategies early on can enhance both diagnosis and intervention planning, ensuring they are tailored to the specific developmental needs of each child.
手势产生是非语言交流的一个关键方面，在语言和社会交流技能的发展中起着关键作用。手势发展的延迟往往会阻碍自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童的语言习得和社交互动。尽管针对ASD的各种干预措施都侧重于提高社会交流能力，但它们始终强调整合手势以支持整体交流发展的重要性。本研究旨在调查ASD学龄前儿童在确诊一年后的手势产生进展情况，同时考虑他们是否接受过ASD干预。：本研究跟踪了76名年龄在2至4岁的意大利ASD学龄前儿童，他们接受了三种不同类型的干预或根本没有接受干预。使用标准化的家长代理报告《麦克阿瑟交流发展指标》（MCDI）收集手势产生的数据。：结果表明，所有组，无论干预类型如何，手势产生都有所增加，这表明干预措施与时间、症状严重程度以及ASD特有的学习差异等因素相结合，对非语言交流产生了积极影响。这种改善可能归因于多种因素。一方面，共同注意和社会交流互动推动了进步，另一方面，ASD儿童可能从通过非社会介导的语言材料进行学习中受益。：这些发现凸显了了解ASD儿童发展非语言交流技能的个体学习偏好和策略的必要性。尽早确定有效的策略可以加强诊断和干预计划，确保它们针对每个孩子的特定发展需求进行量身定制。
