Interações triádicas de crianças com TEA: trocas comunicativas e afetivas em episódios interativos com mães e brinquedos

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by behavioral manifestations that involve, among other challenges, difficulties in social interactions and communication. The development of these skills in children goes through a series of stages, and triadic interactions, established between child, adult and objects, play a fundamental role in this process. This research aims to contribute to understanding the role played by objects, in the context of these triadic interactions, in the communicative development of children with ASD. More specifically, the goal was to investigate the triadic interactions between mothers and children with ASD during play sessions, analyzing the ways in which objects are used, the communicative and affective exchanges, as well as the mothers' mediating practices. The study used Object Pragmatics and the Network of Meanings as its theoretical and methodological framework, and followed a qualitative, descriptive and exploratory approach. Three children aged between 3 and 4, accompanied by their mothers, took part in the study. Data collection involved the following instruments: an identification form, a semi-structured interview script, the Dimensional Inventory for the Assessment of Child Development (IDADI) and naturalistic observational recordings made by videotaping. After the interviews with the mothers and the application of the IDADI, each dyad took part in three play sessions, held in their own home environment and structured as follows: in the first session they used toys belonging to the child; in the second, only toys selected by the researcher; and in the third, toys belonging to the child and the researcher. The sessions lasted between 5 and 15 minutes, with an average of 9 minutes. Data analysis used systems to categorize the patterns of use of objects, communicative exchanges and emotional expressions of the children and their mothers during the triadic interactions, with the aim of mapping the complex interactive dynamics. The results showed that, in all cases, the children played with a variety of toys, indicating variable preferences and changes in choices throughout the sessions. All the children also showed different patterns of use, ranging from unconventional, rhythmic-sonorous, sensory-motor, conventional and even symbolic uses. Thus, the play of children with ASD proved to be diverse in many respects, with an emphasis on the adaptability of these children in their choice of toys throughout the sessions. In addition, all the children were involved in symbolic play, although often promoted by their mothers. The symbolic use of the objects was also related to the mothers' commitment to maintaining a dialog with the children through the stories created with the toys, using many questions and incentives to talk. In all cases, maternal mediation played a fundamental role in promoting communication, due to the uses of these toys/objects. In general, the toys used by the mothers and which they offered to the children had a pedagogical and conventional nature, aiming to teach the children to fit together, assemble or name colors, animals and the objects themselves. Therefore, mothers often used toys as a way of teaching their children how to play in a conventional way or to stimulate communication, and made continuous efforts and resources to keep the children engaged in play.