El dibujo como estrategia para estimular la comunicación no verbal en niños de inicial con espectro autista

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that manifests in childhood and has no visible physical consequences. In children with autism, the area most affected is communication and social interaction. In addition, some have sensory differences, such as hypersensitivity to noise, light, or textures, as well as a reduced response to stimuli that would usually capture their attention. Given these difficulties, drawing is used as a positive and effective strategy to encourage nonverbal communication and social interaction in these children. This research aims to describe the use of drawing as a tool to stimulate nonverbal communication in children with ASD in early childhood education. This study uses a qualitative-bibliographic approach, offering a detailed analysis and description of drawing as a strategy to enhance nonverbal communication in children with autism. The information collected comes from various digital sources, selecting articles that specifically address the use of drawing and nonverbal communication in children with ASD, published since 2017. Documents that did not directly address these topics or were published prior to 2017 were excluded. As a result, the main characteristics are little or no use of communicative gestures and eye contact, as well as microfacial expressions and atypical use of tone of voice or constant sounds. The use of drawing improved the children’s behavior and verbal and nonverbal communication, improving their quality of life.