Evaluation of the communicative behavior of children 18 to 24 months

• Grant number: 14/23284-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2015
• End date: April 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Speech Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Dionísia Aparecida Cusin Lamônica
• Grantee: Beatriz Castanheira Morelli
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia de Bauru (FOB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Bauru , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The early years of an individual's life are crucial to children's development. As for language development, the period of 18 to 24 months of the child age is characterized by the transition from functional for the language system. The importance of knowledge about the communicative and language development at this age is based on the present transformations that culminate in the ability to participate more actively in the family environment and begin his role as a good speaker. Assessment of child development tests should be based on the normal range of the population and are required to measure and compare the development of children according to their age group, increasing the chances of accurate diagnosis, preventive measures and appropriate treatment planning, when necessary. The aim is to verify the communicative behavior of typical children aged 18-24 months. Prior to execution of this study, the same shall be submitted to and approved by the Ethics Committee on Human Research (CEP). Participate in 30 children with typical development, and their legal representatives. Children of both genders, aged between 18 and 24 months will be recruited. After signing an informed consent by legal guardians, they will respond a protocol of history, containing information about the early life of the child. In structured environment and semi-structured situations, the child will participate in interactive games and activities, which will be offered concrete objects so that it acts on them and connect them with each other and with the environment. For a child to be considered as having typical development will be held the Denver Development Screening Test II. For the presentation of the data obtained during the interview will be used descriptive statistics with values of absolute and relative frequency. Statistical analysis of the results of the evaluation will follow the pre-established for each item in the assessment protocol numeric criteria. A final score for statistical analysis will be computed. (AU)