The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of communication disorders on family members of people with Parkinson's disease (PD) through the lens of third-party disability. Nine community-dwelling family members who live with people with PD participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were collected and analyzed using the qualitative…

Clinical Question: Do caregivers of young children with communication disorders or children with delays/deficits in social-communication skills who participate in training and coaching on communication strategies via telepractice compared to those who participate in training and coaching on communication strategies in person show enhanced…

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…

The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly impacted daily life, including the educational experiences of school-age children with and without disabilities and their families who supported them. This descriptive qualitative study examined the experiences of families with children with extensive support needs and complex communication needs during the…

Siblings play an important role in the lives of children with disabilities, especially those with complex communication needs (CCN). However, children with CCN require support to learn social and communication skills. Like other communication partners, typically developing (TD) siblings may struggle to understand how to best interact with a child…

This article describes the operation of a Communication Coaching Program, which was designed to provide supports for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) attending the University of Rhode Island. To succeed in college programs, many students with ASDs need access to specialized programming and personnel who are able to foster their…

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 aim of the present study was to examine the communicative abilities of traumatic brain injury patients (TBI). We wish to provide a complete assessment of their communicative ability/disability using a new experimental protocol, the "Assessment Battery of Communication," ("ABaCo") comprising five scales--linguistic, extralinguistic,…

Background: Listening to how people talk about the consequences of acquired aphasia helps one gain insight into how people construe disability and communication disability in particular. It has been found that some of these construals can be more of a disabling barrier in re-engaging with life than the communication impairment itself. Aims: To…

Purpose: This study examined satisfaction with communicative participation as reported by adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). Method: Eight community-dwelling adults with MS participated in semi-structured interviews. They were asked to discuss their satisfaction with their communication in a variety of situations. Interviews were analyzed using…

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…

Social script and visual cue use with students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) were examined. A multiple baseline design across activities with embedded withdrawal was used to measure student acquisition of verbal communication skills. Three children with ASD, two boys and one girl, were taught a series of scripts and were shown a "quiet"…

Children with autism learn in ways that are unique to their peers without autism. While children with autism may have difficulty with comprehending and using language, exhibiting social skills, attending to instruction, and staying on task, they also have strengths that teachers should take advantage of. Treatment and Education of Autistic and…

The Inventory of Potential Communicative Acts (IPCA) was given to 20 children with developmental and physical disabilities. Results indicate the IPCA is an efficient means for collecting accurate, verifiable data of the potential communicative acts of children with severe communication impairment associated with a range of developmental and…

This article discusses how practitioners can link assessment to action when planning communication interventions for young children with disabilities. It reviews communication components and discusses strategies for collecting information that may be especially useful in the domain of communication. Strategies for turning assessment information…