Language reorganization in Children with Trisomy 21 in comorbidity with Autistic Spectrum Disorder: contributions of the Padovan® Method of Neurofunctional Reorganization

Abstract

The Historical-Cultural Theory (THC), the theoretical basis of this research, supported by the theoretical assumptions of Vygotski and Luria, highlights that all individuals, throughout their development, whether disabled or not, have the capacity to learn, as they consider that their Brain structuring occurs through the presence of the other, in a relational-intentional situation. The same can occur with individuals who have Trisomy 21 (T21) in comorbidity with Autism Spectrum Syndrome (ASD) based on the theoretical constructions enunciated by Vygotski and Luria, THC. Among the therapeutic intervention proposals for the language development of these individuals, T21 in comorbidity with ASD, the Padovan® Method of Neurofunctional Reorganization (MPRN) is applied, the object of analysis of this study, which in its therapeutic application, recapitulates the phases of the neurodevelopment of the Central Nervous System (CNS). And it does so through specific body exercises to stimulate orofacial functions such as breathing, sucking, chewing and swallowing, considered pre-linguistic functions, and which precede speech, and can be presented as an efficient resource, providing the bases for the restructuring and maturation of the CNS, and highlighting the benefits of its application throughout the maturation process of these individuals. The objective of this study is to characterize MPRN as a therapeutic proposal for the acquisition of language in children with T21 and comorbidity, aiming to analyze the results of its application and its effectiveness for the acquisition of language in this population. Data were collected in the Research Group at T21 “Fala Down”, at the State University of Southwest Bahia (UESB) over fourteen (14) months, from August 2022 to October 2023, in therapeutic intervention sessions, with three (3) T21 children with comorbidity, aged one (1) year, three (3) years and four (4) years, who had neither language nor speech acquisition. Data were collected in weekly interventions, with the application of the MPRN and indicated the beginning of the subjects' neurological reorganization process, and it was observed that, after the application of the MPRN resources, the subjects' temporal, parietal and frontal lobe brain areas denoted structuring and restructuring, highlighting neural connections and synapses demonstrated in the intensification of the children's language development, who began to present Canonical Babbling (BC) followed by the evocation of the first words. The initial data highlighted the possible effectiveness of MPRN as a viable and effective therapeutic proposal in the rehabilitation and qualification of speech and language in T21 children comorbid with ASD.