A comunicação escrita de pessoas com deficiência intelectual via internet

Abstract

The present study was conducted with subjects with intellectual disabilities who accepted to participate in work sessions during which they wrote and exchanged messages via e-mail and MSN. The objective of the study was to evaluate the evolution of the subjects during the participation in the communication sessions, in what refers to reading, writing messages, social interaction behaviors, the use of cognitive strategies and, finally, computer use. Nine subjects, adolescents and adults, participated in the study. They were accompanied by a mediator whose main role was to assist in the writing of messages intended for interlocutors who also had intellectual disabilities. A total of 87 sessions were recorded, of which 36 (verbatins) were transcribed and analyzed by means of a scale that allowed categorizing and ordering the subjects' behaviors by classifying them as elementary, intermediate or advanced. The comparisons between the behaviors of the first and the last session were performed and analyzed by means of statistical significance tests. Significant progress was observed in social interactions and the use of cognitive planning and control strategies. On the other hand, no significant progress was made in the field of reading and writing (spelling and semantics) and computer use.