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…

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed substantial gaps in communication access for patients across hospital settings. With the rise in positive cases globally, the need for communication enhancement strategies, including augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), has emerged as a critical need. Many resources exist that describe AAC assessment…

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…

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the feasibility of a telepractice communication partner intervention for children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and their parents. Method: Five children (aged 3;4-12;9 [years;months]) with severe expressive communication impairments who use AAC and their parents enrolled in a…

Withdrawal and multitreatment single subject research designs were used to evaluate the effectiveness of stay-play-talk (SPT) interventions on social behaviors of preschool-aged peers to children with disabilities. Each group included at least one socially competent peer and one child with Down syndrome who used an augmentative and alternative…

By 2001, Facilitated Communication (FC) had largely been empirically discredited as an effective intervention for previously uncommunicative persons with disabilities, especially those with autism and related disorders. Key empirical findings consistently showed that the facilitator and not the client initiated communication. I analyze the extant…

With more children and young adults with severe disabilities in today's general education classrooms, SLPs and other professionals must be ready to support their students' communication skills with effective AAC. They'll get the proven strategies they need with this intervention guide from top AAC experts, ideal for use as an in-service…

Volunteering is a common activity amongst adults without disability, resulting in benefits for individuals, organisations, and societies at large. In an attempt to increase community participation, people with lifelong disability who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems (e.g., speech generating devices or communication…

The purpose of this case study was to examine the effects of a time-delay prompting procedure on the acquisition of skills for repairing multiple listener misunderstandings. A prelinguistic student with autism was taught to use picture cards as a strategy to repair listener misunderstandings in a setting where the student had to ask the listener…

Background: Anecdotal and research evidence suggests that professionals may not fully understand the perspectives of families of children who need or use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). This may impact on the provision of appropriate services. Aims: The aim was to explore the lived experience of parents of children in Britain who…

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…

This paper explores three different language representation methods used to access vocabulary in augmentative alternative communication (AAC) and identifies which are most effective for core and extended vocabulary. The benefits and drawbacks of using spelling, single meaning pictures, and semantic compaction (Minspeak) are described. The paper…

Three children (ages 3-4) with disabilities were successfully taught functional communication behaviors using select augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices. Acquisition of AAC behaviors resulted from an intervention strategy that included creating communicative opportunities, providing a peer or teacher model of the behavior,…

The purpose of this article is to describe a family-centered collaborative approach for developing and implementing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device training for one family. Family-centered training emphasized collaboration with the primary investigator and focused on needs assessment, the identification of priority…

Supports the important work of group counselors by focusing on the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in nondisability specific groups and addressing disability myths, disability etiquette, architectural accessibility, and group process issues. (LKS)