This study's goal was to inform the selection of the most frequently used words to serve as a reference for core vocabulary selection for Hebrew-speaking children who require AAC. The paper describes the vocabulary used by 12 Hebrew-speaking preschool children with typical development in two different conditions: peer talk, and peer talk with…

People with severe/profound intellectual disability experience challenges in communicating and require their communication partners to adapt to their means of communication. Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is recognised as a potential means to meet their communication needs. Interventions need to be aimed at both the individual…

Social positioning involves positioning individuals with extensive support needs (ESN) in proximity to and facing a communication partner, with access to a speech-generating device (SGD). We used a multiple probe design to evaluate if social positioning would increase the symbolic and nonsymbolic communication of 10 adults with ESN when they were…

Background: Adults with severe/profound intellectual disability typically face poor communication outcomes as they are often nonverbal and need their supporters to provide for their communication needs. This review aimed to identify studies focused on the communication resources people with severe/profound intellectual disability use for…

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…

Literature pertaining to open disclosure predominantly refers to acute care settings; this is the case in, for example, the UK, Republic of Ireland, Australia, Korea and the USA. There is, however, a dearth of literature regarding open disclosure related to people with intellectual disabilities. A practice example of open disclosure is presented…

Few studies have investigated how individuals with partially intelligible speech choose to communicate, including how, when, and why they might use a speech-generating device (SGD). This study aimed to add to the literature by exploring how this group of individuals use different communication strategies. Qualitative interviews were carried out…

Mental health and wellbeing are foundational in human interaction and life satisfaction. Persons with complex communication needs are at risk of reduced mental health and wellbeing. The aim of this project was to identify the facilitators and barriers that individuals with complex communication needs experience when attending to their mental…

This theoretical review article describes "situated discourse analysis" (SDA) and explores its implications for communication sciences and disorders. Drawing on situated theories of cognition and communication, SDA aims to understand "real-time communicative processes" of people engaging in complex "sociocultural…

The aims of this study were to investigate the lived experiences of people with complex communication needs in developing romantic and sexual relationships, and identify and explore barriers and facilitators they encountered in pursuing these relationships. For the study, nine participants were interviewed. All were at least 21-years-old, used…

People who have both autism spectrum disorder and complex communication needs require specialized, multidisciplinary interventions and supports to boost their independence and quality of life. Find up-to-date, evidence-supported information and strategies in this book, the newest volume in the respected Augmentative and Alternative Communication…

A repeated measures design was used to investigate the effect of group intervention on the teaching of partner-focused questions to people who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), and the perceived communicative competence before and after intervention of the AAC users. Six participants who had severe speech impairments…

This study, with 96 sales clerks, examined conversational trade-offs with customers using augmentative or alternative communication (AAC) in scripted videotaped conversational conditions. The clerks rated the conditions involving slowly delivered relevant messages higher than quickly delivered partly relevant messages. Also, messages preceded by a…

Interactions between youth with cognitive disabilities and unfamiliar adult partners were observed during a "standard partner" condition to discern the effects of the use of an augmentative and alternative communication system on communication patterns. Thirteen individuals who used the System for Augmenting Language (SAL) were compared to…

Three individuals (8, 10, and 24 years old, with diagnoses of autism and mental retardation) participated in a message-passing facilitated communication format to determine whether they could disclose information previously unknown to their facilitators. Results showed valid facilitated communication from each participant. Out of 720 communicative…