Investigating the Non-verbal Communication in Iraqi Preschool Children with Normal Development and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Hussein Ali Musa Al-keweledy; Zahra Soleymani; Amer Alhaideri; Fariba Zadeh Labbaf; Faeghe Shahhoseini

doi:10.18502/jmr.v17i4.13893

Hussein Ali Musa Al-keweledy Department of Speech Therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Zahra Soleymani Department of Speech Therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Amer Alhaideri Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Karbala University, Karbala, Iraq
Fariba Zadeh Labbaf Department of Statistics, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
Faeghe Shahhoseini International College, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jmr.v17i4.13893

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Nonverbal communication; Preschool children; Iraq

Abstract

Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by difficulties with language, cognition, and social interaction. The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder, fifth edition used “spectrum” to show the variability in etiology and phenotypic levels. This study aims to compare nonverbal communication skills in normally developing and autistic children in Karbala City, Iraq.

Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Two sets of children (ASD and normal) were matched in terms of age and socioeconomic state. A total of 50 individuals were recruited with 25 ASD and 25 normally developing children without any history of psychological abnormalities. The child’s parent/caregiver provided all the demographic information and medical history. The information was gathered from 10-min videos separately recorded for each child, regular contact with them, and continuous interviews with their parents and caregivers. The researchers developed a pre-designed data collection questionnaire according to the non-verbal skills of 3-5-year-olds, including body language, eye contact, and facial expressions. The questionnaire was filled out by the first author. Finally, the gathered data were analyzed by the SPSS software, version 25 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY).

Results: Comparing the total scores revealed a significant difference between the ASD and normal group in gestures (P≤0.001), phonetics (P≤0.001), body language (P≤0.001), and artifacts (P≤0.001). Normally developed children scored significantly higher than ASD children in all 4 variables. However, in the maladaptive behavior (P≤0.001), the significant scores were for ASD children compared to normal children.

Conclusion: The results showed that ASD children experience difficulty in nonverbal communication skills. They also have maladaptive behaviors. The main reason for this behavior is their inability to communicate non-verbally.