Between 30 and 50% of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) do not develop vocal language deemed functionally acceptable to meet their daily communication needs. As a result, individuals with ASD may require intervention alternatives to vocal speech, such as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). However, very little is known…

Background: Children who are learning English as an Additional Language (EAL) may start school with smaller vocabularies than their monolingual peers. Given the links between vocabulary and academic achievement, it is important to evaluate interventions that are designed to support vocabulary learning in this group of children. Aims: To evaluate…

A multimodal intervention program designed for a nine-year-old with severe communication problems (secondary to cerebral palsy, receptive dysphasia, and auditory agnosia) combined manual signs and graphic symbols to help her communicate. The intensive, highly structured program had significant positive results. (Author/CB)

During an eight-month treatment regimen utilizing simultaneous sign/speech input, all of the words of a young girl with Down's Syndrome were recorded. Analyses revealed that most of the words she initially signed were later spontaneously spoken and that most of her signed productions evolved into spontaneous spoken productions. (Author/JDD)

Disfluencies in the verbal and signed language of a 10-year-old moderately mentally retarded boy were analyzed. Discussion addresses implications for the accurate characterization of stuttering in manual communication and appropriate approaches to management in such cases. (DB)

This paper argues that current practices in total communication classrooms have basically assigned the responsibility of communication to hearing-impaired students who must adapt to the variation in communication behaviors displayed by each of their teachers. The paper advocates use of a model communication and language policy designed to…