ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) frequently receive poorer health care then the general population. Frequently the speech-language pathologist is the only health professional that follows the child's everyday life and therefore is the only resource for guidance regarding basic health habits. Poor oral health may result in severe discomfort and other health problems that can be prevented by simple routine habits and adequate professional follow-up. The aim of the present study was to gather information about oral hygiene and dental care habits of children with ASD and their families. The hypothesis was that these children have poorer oral care habits than their families. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Participants were parents of 120 children with autism, aged 4 to 12 years in two different cities of the state of Sao Paulo. They answered to a simple questionnaire about oral hygiene and health care habits. RESULTS: Indicated that there is a significant difference (p< 0.001) between the children and their families regarding basic oral hygiene habits, such as brushing and flossing, as well as routine visits to the dentist. CONCLUSIONS: This information clearly indicates the need for education programs aiming to encourage the inclusion children with ASD in the basic habits of oral care carried-out by the families. Key words:Autism disorder, oral hygiene habits, oral health.
ABSTRACT
This study examined syntactic assignment for predicates and reflexives as well as working memory effects in the sentence comprehension of children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI), Down syndrome (DS), high functioning Autism (HFA) and Typical Language Development (TLD). Fifty-seven children (35 boys and 22 girls) performed a computerised picture-selection sentence comprehension task. Predicate attachment and reflexive antecedent assignment (with working memory manipulations) were investigated. The results showed that SLI, HFA and DS children exhibited poorer overall performance than TLD children. Children with SLI exhibited similar performance to the DS and HFA children only when working memory demands were higher. We conclude that children with SLI, HFA and DS differ from children with TLD in their comprehension of predicate and reflexive structures where the knowledge of syntactic assignment is required. Working memory manipulation had different effects on syntactic comprehension depending on language disorder. Intelligence was not an explanatory factor for the differences observed in performance.
