For children with complex communication needs (CCN), augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices offer a means to communicate and participate in daily activities. Effective implementation and intervention practices are needed for supporting teaching teams working with children with CCN to improve child use of AAC. The purpose of this…

The school environment adapted to the diversity of students is an important goal, but it is a challenge when it comes to the diversity of students with disabilities. The aim of this study was to describe the use of graphic systems in the routine of a preschool classroom through a collaborative program. The study included a teacher, 22 children of…

This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of using the high-tech speech-generating device with Proloquo2Go app to reduce echolalic utterances in a student with autism during conversational speech. After observing that the iPad device with several apps was used by the students and that it served as a communication device, language…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty generalizing newly acquired communication skills to different contexts. In this study, a multiple baseline across settings (clinic, school, and home) design was used to determine whether an 8-year-old boy with ASD could learn to approach communication partners to request…

Communication among adolescents with cerebral palsy can be restricted with traditional Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device coupled with environmental and social barriers. The advance of communication technology offer solutions to reduce such barriers. Given that there is limited research in communication behaviours of…

Even when enrolled in general education classes, students with complex communication challenges may remain socially isolated from their classmates when receiving one-to-one paraprofessional support. We evaluated the efficacy and social validity of an intervention package incorporating paraprofessional facilitation, peer initiation, and increased…

This study grew from a need identified by professionals working in the same community to explore interagency support for augmentative and alternative communication device implementation with students, families, and professionals involving the local school system and university. A case study was used to document intervention with a second-grade…

This article reports on the views of individuals with learning disability (LD) on their use of their speech generating devices (SGDs), their satisfaction about their communication, and their priorities. The development of an interview tool made of graphic symbols and entitled Communication, Satisfaction and Priorities of SGD Users (CSPU) is…

Despite expansive improvements in both treatments and research, the majority of persons with autism use non-empirically supported interventions. One way to decrease the research-to-practice gap involves increasing the direct applicability of research findings to clinical settings. Effectiveness research achieves this goal by identifying treatments…

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) holds the potential to enable people with severe oral communication impairments to participate more fully in society. However, despite the development of increasingly sophisticated communication aids, as well as recent UK policy initiatives aimed at improving access to them, some major obstacles…

Purpose: Although advancements in technology have expanded the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices for children with disabilities, the use of AAC devices in school and home settings is often inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to examine family members' perceptions regarding the use of AAC devices. Factors that…

Professional sensitivity to cultural issues during augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) design and implementation has gained increasing attention in the professional literature. This article describes four cultural domains in which core values characteristic of Native American tribes are discernable: spirituality, trustworthiness,…