Purpose: The present clinical focus draws on an intrinsic case study to provide a thick description of the communication profile of John, a 9-year-old minimally verbal autistic student. Method: Specifically, traditional behavioral assessments, classroom video observations, and semistructured interviews were used to gather information regarding…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine confidence levels and identify predictors of increased confidence of school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) relative to different aspects of the augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) assessment process. Method: Surveys were completed by 272 school-based SLPs. Questions were…

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of a conversation-based intervention on the expressive vocabulary and grammatical skills of children with severe motor speech disorders and expressive language delay who use augmentative and alternative communication. Method: Eight children aged from 8 to 13 years participated in the study.…

This Conversation Analysis study investigated how a speech and language therapist (SLT) created opportunities for communication aid use in multiparty conversation. An SLT interacted with a child with multiple disabilities and her grandparents in a home setting, using a bliss board. The analyses demonstrated a practice where the SLT employed…

Background: Communication difficulties are common in cerebral palsy (CP) and are frequently associated with motor, intellectual and sensory impairments. Speech and language therapy research comprises single-case experimental design and small group studies, limiting evidence-based intervention and possibly exacerbating variation in practice. Aims:…

The primary purpose of this study was to establish whether contrasting teaching methods had an effect on performance accuracy in the recall of graphic symbols. The secondary purpose was to establish whether the iconicity of symbols had an effect on performance accuracy. A direct symbol-teaching method and a contextual symbol-teaching method were…

Inequality in communicative resources available to non-speaking children with cerebral palsy in comparison with their "naturally" speaking co-participants has material consequences for the ways in which face-to-face interaction is organized. Analyses of interaction involving non-speaking children with physical disability and speaking…

Communication can be difficult for children with conditions such as cerebral palsy because of speech and physical impairments. For this group of children, choice-making is often limited to choices of personal preferences; however, preferences do not reveal intellectual abilities. Therefore, choice-making should be presented to these children in…

This manual describes the Wisconsin Sensorimotor Pointing Assessment (WSPA) for individuals with severe communication deficits complicated by other cognitive or motor disabilities, and provides guidelines for its administration. The WSPA was designed to quantify four categories of sensory and motor abilities necessary for initiating and accurately…

This book contains the proceedings of the annual RESNA (Association for the Advancement of Rehabilitation Technology) conference, which focused on technology and individuals with disabilities. Papers and presentations are grouped into the following nine major categories: (1) assistive technology and cognitive disabilities; (2) augmentative and…

These proceedings of the annual RESNA (Association for the Advancement of Rehabilitation Technology) conference include more than 200 presentations on all facets of assistive technology, including concurrent sessions, scientific platform sessions, interactive poster presentations, computer demonstrations, and the research symposia. The scientific…