Language and communication skills in autistic children (Between 3-6 years old)

The purpose of this study is to measure the language skills of autistic children aged 3-6 years by using Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-(PPVT) and compare them with the levels of receptive language of non-autistic children in the same age group in order to contribute to the language development of autistic children. A group of 22 autistic children attending school during the 2014-2015 school year in special rehabilitation centers in Diyarbakir under the Ministry of National Education are the subjects of the study. For each autistic child, the following parameters were determined by a survey applied to families of autistic children: age of the child,sex, father's education level, languages spoken at home, number of brothers and sisters, mother's profession, the habit of watching TV. During the investigation, receptive language skills of autistic boys and those of autistic girls in the same age group were compared. Father's education level and the points obtained by the children at the Peabody test were given in the table. Moreover, the difference between the scores for receptive language between children speaking one language (Turkish) and children speaking two languages (Turkish and Kurdish) was sought. We also examined the relationship between children language scores with the number of siblings in the family. Finally, the correlation between the mother's profession, watching TV and Peabody scores was determined. The estimates were made on the language points to determine whether there was an increase in direct proportion to age in normal children with normal language development with autistic children. In order to understand better whether there are differences between age and language issues (language scores), the tables and charts were assessed separately. Keywords: Communication, Language, Receptive Language, Autism, Peabody.