Despite advances in the field of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), outcomes among children who require AAC remain discouraging. Practitioners may benefit from guidelines to aid decision-making in relation to supporting pre-linguistic communicators. We conducted an open-ended questionnaire of 30 AAC professionals from six…

Background and aims: Teachers serve as critical communication partners for students with intellectual disability (ID) who face communication difficulties. However, teachers may lack sufficient training in using communication partner strategies and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) in the classroom. This study aimed to explore…

Background & aims: The study assessed the efficacy of a novel, child-friendly, socio-culturally sensitive, icon-based Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) system called Jellow Communicator, in teaching requesting skills to young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in a special school in Mumbai, India. Jellow is a…

This study examined the effects of an intervention that integrated peer-mediated instruction (PMI) with augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) using speech-generating devices (SGDs). Nine trained peer tutors without disabilities taught science concepts and modeled use of SGDs following a script to three elementary school students with…

Individuals with severe learning disabilities have little or no speech and find it very difficult to communicate and learn new skills. Most of them were excluded from the education process due to the presumed inability to learn. However, it has been observed over time that individuals with severe learning disabilities (SLD) of all ages and types…

The school environment adapted to the diversity of students is an important goal, but it is a challenge when it comes to the diversity of students with disabilities. The aim of this study was to describe the use of graphic systems in the routine of a preschool classroom through a collaborative program. The study included a teacher, 22 children of…

Graphic symbols are commonly used across countries in order to support individuals with communicative deficiency. The literature review revealed the absence of such a system for Turkish socio-cultural context. In this study, the aim was to develop a symbol system appropriate for the Turkish socio-cultural context. The process began with studies…

We are in an innovation process for the development of a new generation of tools and resources for education and training throughout life, available in any platform, at anytime and place and in any language. The project TOPQX intends to congregate a set of theoretical and empirical resources that form a scientific base from which it will be…

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…

Rapidly increasing educational needs of the information society individuals make it necessary and commonplace to use information and communication technologies for instructional purposes. These technologies regulate, direct and shape individuals' social interactions, and help individuals participate in processes and activities which are relatively…

This study investigated the effects of introducing the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) on the frequency of requesting and commenting and the length of verbal utterances of two children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who presented with some spoken language, but limited use of language in communicative exchanges. A mixed research…

The purpose of this investigation was to gain an understanding of the challenges of teaching non-speaking learners with intellectual disabilities and the scope of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) used in primary school settings in Gaborone, Botswana. A qualitative interview methodology was used to investigate the experiences of 11…

This study investigated the effects of a multiphase teacher professional development package on student use of speech-generating augmentative and alternative communication devices (SGDs). Teachers were taught (a) device operation and programming, (b) device integration and embedding using environmental arrangement strategies, and (c) systematic…

This book is intended to help primary grade teachers teach children with disabilities or other special needs to learn to read and write together with their peers. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of literacy. The first chapter discusses emergent literacy and highlights strategies to help children find meaning and relevance in print…

This document is comprised of the four 2000 issues of a periodical published by the Australian Early Childhood Association focusing on the needs of children from birth to 8 years and on issues related to child care and early childhood education in Australia. Each issue features articles focusing on a particular theme along with editorials and…