Atipični komunikacijski razvoj i socioadaptivno funkcioniranje u ranoj dobi
Atypical Communicative Development and Socioadaptive Functioning in the Early Age

Summary/Abstract: Communication disorders that go beyond "a child is not speaking" problem have become a serious and frequent problem the parents and child' s environment are faced with. Societies with systems of early intervention provide recognition of autism spectrum disorders on time and immediate inclusion of the child in early intervention programs. In Croatia, issues of early development and disorders do not get enough attention, so a low understanding of developmental problems results in a loss of intuition in educational approaches. Psychological and speech and language assessment of children aged 3,6 (N=30) that seek help because of not speaking reveals serious problems in social communication (restricted language understanding, inconsistent response to communication, small number of functions). There are no data about how these children later cope with everyday life, therefore the parents were contacted by phone and a small survey was conducted. Results show that children with communication disorders adjust with difficulty to kindergarten and often do not get an opportunity to attend any therapy session. Within the interpretation of results many social issues are discussed: level of awareness of autism spectrum disorders, centralization of diagnostic services in the main city and the role of parents in their children's adjustment to everyday life.

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