Revista CEFAC
https://revistacefac.org.br/article/doi/10.1590/1982-0216/20262835225
Revista CEFAC
Original Articles

Motor speech characteristics in verbal children with autism spectrum disorder

Características dos aspectos motores de fala em crianças verbais com Transtorno do Espectro Autista

Beatriz Marchi de Carvalho; Beatriz de Lellis Rossi; Thais Rosa dos Santos; Simone Aparecida Lopes-Herrera

http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-0216/20262835225 Revista CEFAC, vol.28, n3, e5225, 2026
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Abstract

Purpose: to verify which possible motor speech characteristics can be observed in verbal children with an exclusive diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) without motor speech complaints.

Methods: the final sample consisted of 20 verbal children, all Brazilian Portuguese speakers, of both sexes, aged 36 to 72 months (3 to 6 years), with an exclusive medical diagnosis of ASD. The speech-language-hearing version of the Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) Checklist was applied to all children included in the study in a playful context to verify their speech characteristics. The scoring was based on a numerical scale, assigning a value of 0 for "never presented" and 1 for the categories "presented" or "currently presents". Finally, a descriptive analysis of the data was performed.

Results: speech characteristics indicative of CAS or other motor speech disorders had a lower incidence in children with ASD, while language and sensory issues were more frequently observed in the study sample.

Conclusion: children with a sole diagnosis of ASD, without global motor and/or speech complaints, obtained low scores on a checklist developed to detect CAS characteristics.

Keywords

Apraxias; Speech; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Speech Sound Disorder; Child Language

Resumo

Objetivo: verificar quais possíveis características motoras de fala podem ser observadas em crianças verbais com diagnóstico exclusivo de Transtorno do Espectro Autista (TEA) sem queixas motoras de fala.

Métodos: a amostra final foi de 20 crianças, todas falantes do Português Brasileiro, de ambos os sexos, com idades entre 36 e 72 meses (3:00 e 6:00 anos), com diagnóstico médico exclusivo de TEA e que fossem verbais. Para verificar as características de fala das crianças participantes, a versão para fonoaudiólogos do Checklist de Apraxia de Fala na Infância (AFI) foi aplicada a todas as crianças incluídas no estudo em um contexto lúdico. A pontuação baseou-se em uma escala numérica, atribuindo-se valor 0 para “nunca apresentou” e 1 para as categorias “apresentou” ou “apresenta atualmente”. Por fim, realizou-se uma análise descritiva dos dados obtidos.

Resultados: verificou-se que as características de fala indicativas de um quadro de AFI ou algum outro Transtorno Motor de Fala (TMF) tiveram menor incidência nas crianças com TEA, enquanto questões de linguagem e sensoriais foram mais observadas na amostra do estudo.

Conclusão: crianças com TEA como diagnóstico exclusivo, sem queixas motoras globais e/ou de fala, obtiveram baixa pontuação num Checklist desenvolvido para detectar características de AFI.

Palavras-chave

Apraxias; Fala; Transtorno do Espectro Autista; Transtorno Fonológico; Linguagem Infantil

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Submitted date:
06/10/2025

Accepted date:
09/15/2025

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