Sekundarni povzetek: |
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of pervasive developmental disorders. It occurs in children before they are three years old, it includes all mental functions, and it lasts for life. The basic symptoms include lack of emotional responses, disorders of verbal and nonverbal communication, disorders of speech development, and stereotypical behaviour. These symptoms are professionally called a trinity of deficit and they are present in all children. Connecting the theoretical bases with the empirical part, I established the specifics of speech and language development in a twelve year old child with autism spectrum disorder, the influence of slow speech and language development on his learning and communication, in a case study. One of the reasons why I chose this kind of research was heterogeneity in children with autism spectrum disorder. Although the elements and criteria for identifying autism spectrum disorder are determined, they are differently manifested in each individual.
In the theoretical bases I focused on important facts in terms of autism spectrum disorder, which range from causes, identification, time of origin, manifestation of symptoms, diagnostics, medical classifications, and disorder treatment to how an individual with autism spectrum disorder functions, how he or she integrates into educational institutions, and the influence of environment on child’s functioning and condition. The diploma thesis includes numerous scientific studies, which substantiate the findings of the empirical part.
In the empirical part I researched speech and language development in a child with autism spectrum disorder in comparison to landmarks of conventional development. Although speech and language were later developed in the child with autism spectrum disorder, the case study showed that he does not use them to communicate. Abilities which are unsuitably developed restrict child’s learning, his view of the world, understanding and accepting other people’s feelings, social interaction, dealing with everyday situations, and functioning in school and home environment. According to these findings I evolved and performed different strategies, which helped to encourage dialogic communication with the child. |