Students with complex communication needs require well-designed supports to communicate effectively in school settings. Although paraprofessionals are often charged with supporting these students, they are rarely trained in how to promote communication, and there is limited research on how they might be trained. In this study, we used a multiple…

A growing number of research groups are now including older minimally verbal individuals with autism spectrum disorder in their studies to encompass the full range of heterogeneity in the population. There are numerous barriers that prevent researchers from collecting high-quality data from these individuals, in part because of the challenging…

The study examined the effects of the types of communication breakdowns of the communication partners on the repair strategies of students with severe intellectual disability during interaction within the natural school environment. Forty-eight staff members, divided into two groups based on daily vs. weekly contact with the student, and 12…

Purpose: Vocal, gestural, and graphic communication modes were implemented concurrently with a toddler with Angelman syndrome to identify the most efficiently learned communication mode to emphasize in an initial augmentative communication system. Method: Symbols representing preferred objects were introduced in vocal, gestural, and graphic…