The acquisition of reading skills is vital for all individuals given the ubiquitous influence of reading on academic outcomes and quality of life. Individuals with complex communication needs, requiring the supports of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), are often excluded from learning phonological approaches to literacy. Most…

Paraeducators are frequent sources of support for young children with disabilities in early childhood settings. However, they typically have limited training in providing communication opportunities for children with complex communication needs (CCN). The impact was investigated of providing training in a communication interaction strategy to…

This article describes comprehensive, high-quality writing instruction for students with developmental disabilities. The Enriched Writers' Workshop combines differentiated writing process instruction with social communication instruction and cognitive strategy instruction for students with complex writing needs across a wide range of ages. It…

The current study investigated the effectiveness of an integrated word identification and communication intervention for children with complex communication needs. Using a nonconcurrent, multiple baseline design, the study involved three participants who completed 75 lessons across 4 to 6 weeks of instruction. All three participants improved their…

Facilitated communication (FC) as an augmentative or alternative communication system was evaluated with 14 students having autism. At the end of 10 weeks of instruction, no participants were able to produce functional, typed communication, thereby failing to support the cause-effect relationship proposed by FC proponents. (DB)

Effects of synthetic speech output on the learning of graphic symbols by three adults with severe to profound mental retardation and communication impairments were evaluated. All participants achieved criterion learning using synthetic speech; two also reached criterion without synthetic speech, but the addition of synthetic speech resulted in…

A 10-year old with severe intellectual disability, no spoken language, and poor language comprehension learned to use 9 object symbols when these were taught directly in a functional choice-making context. Difficulties with research methodology for this type of intervention are addressed. (Author/DB)

Six individuals (ages 10 to 44) with communication disorders who used augmentative and alternative communication were provided instruction on the acquisition, generalization, and long-term maintenance of partner-focused questions. Instruction used least-to-most prompting hierarchy in real-world interactions and simulations. All subjects learned…