The present study aimed to determine whether the use of the Picture Exchange Communication System - PECS favored the communication of an adolescent from the Kaingang indigenous population with intellectual disabilities and language disorders. To verify the effects of the independent variable a single subject design study was performed which involved two phases: baseline and intervention. The system was readapted considering the social, cultural, moral and religious values as well as the habits and customs of that ethnic group. The results showed that the use of the readapted alternative communication system helped to improve the non-verbal communication of the indigenous adolescent and increased her vocabulary, previously considered very restricted and unintelligible.
indigenous people; non-verbal communication; language disorders
