Students with complex communication needs have increasingly been using non-dedicated communication systems, such as mobile devices, to support their communication needs. This in turn, has led to an increased used of augmentative and alternative communication apps. The main challenge currently faced is the lack of empirically validated apps and…

Purpose: Previous research has shown that many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) lack confidence in conducting augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) evaluations. The AAC Clinical Assessment Project team developed a protocol to help guide SLPs to complete AAC assessments for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This article…

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is a core component of speech pathology practice. However, international literature has highlighted that speech language pathologists (SLPs) may not feel confident or competent in this area. Confidence and competence are critical factors in therapy as they can impact the quality-of-service…

The purpose of this paper was to review best-practice methods of collecting and analyzing speech production data from minimally verbal autistic speakers. Data on speech production data in minimally verbal individuals are valuable for a variety of purposes, including phenotyping, clinical assessment, and treatment monitoring. Both perceptual…

This phenomenological qualitative study explored how eight speech-language pathology specialists in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) (who self-identified as adult-focused) would approach the AAC assessment process when presented with a case study of an adult with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The general research questions…

Narrative is the art of conveying a sequence of causally and temporally linked events through monologic telling. Various functions can be served through narratives including sharing experiences, expressing ideas, providing entertainment, and imparting cultural or social values. Narrative language represents an authentic type of language that is…

Successful intervention outcomes and comprehensive assessment is important for people who rely on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). However, the literature surrounding AAC assessment remains sparse. The purposes of this project were to describe the AAC assessment process followed by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and to…

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…