Questionário sobre dificuldades comunicativas percebidas por pais de crianças do espectro do autismo

PURPOSE: To develop a questionnaire to the assessment of communicative difficulties perceived by parents and/or caregivers of children on the autism spectrum in relation to their children. METHODS: The specific aspects addressed by the questionnaire derived from the literature and from the author's clinical experience in specialized services. The questions were organized according to different domains and responses registered on a Likert-type scale. It was performed a pilot study with 40 parents, 20 parents of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and 20 parents of children without complaints of language as a way to verify the applicability of the questionnaire construction and their usefulness in identifying the specific difficulties of the target population. Was calculated the level of agreement of the issues and the results of the groups were compared (Student T Test). RESULTS: The questionnaire was developed in order to cover the fundamental aspects of interpersonal relationships, both within the communicative and social domains. It was divided into 24 multiple choice questions covering four areas and an open question, with space to parents report something they consider important and that has not been asked. The study allowed testing the understanding of the instrument and the statistical analysis indicated that 19 questions showed difference. CONCLUSION: The questionnaire identified differences in perception and attitude of parents of children with autism spectrum disorders and children without complaints of language in relation to communication difficulties with their children. Thus, it was proved useful to assess these difficulties in a larger group of individuals.