La comunicación no verbal y la competencia pragmática en jóvenes con discapacidad intelectual: el papel de la expresión corporal

Introduction: human communication is the process where two or more people engage in the exchange of information. Pragmatic competence is one of the necessary components to make that communication effective. People with intellectual disability may have difficulty negotiating pragmatics and verbal language in the social domain, a connection often overlooked by the scientific community. Objective: this study, conducted in a special education center, aims to assess the communication processes of people with intellectual disability by focusing on the relationship between pragmatic competence and nonverbal communication. Methodology: different tools were used to evaluate the nonverbal component of communication: intellectual quotient, the pragmatic use of language, verbal expression and motor expression. Results: strong correlations were found between some of the evaluated areas. However, no differences were observed in the intelligence test results. Although no significant differences were detected, both verbal expression and motor expression outcomes were slightly higher among students who scored better on nonverbal communication observation tests. The total pragmatic competence results and standard scores on the K-BIT were similar between the two groups. Conclusions: pragmatics is especially important for adolescents with intellectual disabilities and physical expression may be a crucial means to develop these competences.