Playing as a strategy for the development of language in a child with autism spectrum disorder from the scope of inclusive education

Abstract

The objective of this article is to explain how playing is constituted as a strategy that enables the development of language in its communicative, mediating and regulatory roles in a 4-year-old child with Autism Spectrum Disorder from the scope of inclusive education in the transition from pre-school to school age. The design of this research is pretest-post-test. The intervention was based on the strategy of playing and lasted three years. The intervention process required the realization of specific adjustments in the classroom where the student with Autism Spectrum Disorder attended considering his development needs. These adjustments were directed to the use of various cultural tools in the educational field (drawings, keychain images, gestures) by the teacher to help the child understand the importance of learn to communicate with other students. The results showed that in playing, the communicative function enables the development of the mediating and regulating functions of the language in the child within the framework of an inclusive education. In addition, playing as a strategy helps in the development of pro-social or altruistic behaviors.