Core vocabulary lists and vocabulary inventories vary according to language. Lists from one language cannot and should not be assumed to be translatable, as words represent language-specific concepts and grammar. In this manuscript, we (a) present the results of a vocabulary overlap analysis between different published core vocabulary lists in…

Young children with complex communication needs are often severely restricted in their ability to communicate and develop language skills. A major barrier preventing these children from accessing communication is a lack of appropriate means to communicate. The present study investigated the implementation of nonelectronic visual scene displays…

Background: Accurate and meaningful assessment of language and communication skills to monitor child progress is the cornerstone to appropriate intervention for children with complex communication needs (CCN; Brady et al., 2016; Rowland et al., 2012). Despite this need, there is a lack of high quality and validated measurement of young children…

Personalized augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) intervention refers to an approach in which intervention is tailored to the individual's needs and skills, the needs and priorities of the individual's family and other social environments, the evidence base, and the individual's response to intervention. This approach is especially…

Four 5-year-old children with receptive language within normal limits and who required augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) received instruction in producing six different semantic--syntactic structures (three treatment and three generalization targets). Participants accessed single-meaning graphic symbols using an AAC app on an iPad…

Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a neurodegenerative condition characterized by language and cognitive decline. Word-retrieval deficits are the most common PPA symptom and contribute to impaired spoken expression. Intense semantic interventions show promise for improving word retrieval in people with PPA. In addition, people with PPA may learn…

Purpose: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to investigate the effects of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interventions that included aided AAC input (e.g., aided AAC modeling, aided language modeling, aided language stimulation, augmented input) on communicative outcomes (both comprehension and expression) for individuals with…

Purpose: This study investigated the early rule-based sentence productions of 3- and 4-year-old children with severe speech disorders who used single-meaning graphic symbols to communicate. Method: Ten 3- and 4-year-olds requiring the use of augmentative and alternative communication, who had largely intact receptive language skills, received…

A systematic review of research on the effects of interventions that include communication partner modeling of aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) on the language acquisition of individuals with complex communication needs was conducted. Included studies incorporated AAC modeling as a primary component of the intervention,…

Purpose: This study investigated the effects of a communication partner instruction strategy for parents of children using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) on the communicative turn taking of their children. Instruction was provided within storybook-reading contexts. Method: Two single-subject multiple-probe-across-participants…

Research on AAC symbols has focused almost exclusively on iconicity and complexity, and thus has not established whether additional visual features are necessary for conveying meaning in graphic representations. Despite variations in individual depictions of an "apple," we understand the underlying concept due to shared consensus on the set of…

This study reports descriptive findings regarding the scaffolding strategies used by an experienced practitioner during a shared book reading session with a student who uses augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Specific scaffolding strategies are described and, in addition, the level of semantic complexity targeted by the practitioner…

This paper examines the role of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) in fostering the successful inclusion of students with the most severe disabilities in general education. Best practices in AAC are identified and multiple examples of their implementation are presented. Particular emphasis is placed on the need to integrate AAC into…

Two prototype voice output communication aids were implemented to compare methods of graphic symbol message formulation; one emulated current devices that require syntactical ordering of icons (Default) and the other used semantic frames (iconCHAT). Message constructions of eight typically developing children (7-10 years of age) using both…

Background: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of familiarity of depicted persons and environments in recognition of photographs for pupils with different degrees of intellectual disability (ID). Method: Forty-five pupils with ID participated. Results: An interaction effect between the two variables, person and environment, was found…