Abstract:

Assessing the level of communication competencies of a child or pupil with a intellectual disability can have a major impact on further intervention with that child / pupil. With the correct assessment of communication competencies, it is possible to adapt communication with the child to his needs and thus create conditions for further development. Otherwise, it is possible that the child will fail in activities, for example, due to misunderstanding of the expressions, complexity of sentences, etc.

The research entitled "Diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of communication competencies in children with intellectual disabilities” is part of the research project IGA UPOL 2020 entitled “Diagnostic tools in special education.” The survey took place in 2020. The research aimed to create a diagnostic tool that will be suitable for assessing communication competencies in children and pupils with intellectual disabilities. This tool subsequently verified, examined and assessed communication skills of children and pupils with intellectual disabilities in the Czech Republic. A qualitative approach was applied in the research. The research participants were divided into 3 categories according to age (up to 3 years, from 3 to 6 years and from 6 to 15 years of age of the child).

The research team specified in advance the conditions under which the examination will be performed. A battery of words, didactic materials, real objects and a record sheet were used to assess communication competencies. Speech intelligibility, speech comprehension, form of communication, continuous expression and self-expression were assessed in children and pupils. The examination took place at the Ibsenova Special Pedagogical Center in Brno. Within the results, the research brings partial knowledge from the field of communication competencies of children and pupils with intellectual disabilities.

The results show in which areas children and pupils with intellectual disabilities of individual age categories have the greatest problem.

Keywords:

Communication competences, child with intellectual disability, speech comprehension, diagnostics of communication competences.