Background: There is increasing interest in the incorporation of animal-assisted services (AAS) in therapy for adults with acquired neurogenic communication disorders. AAS have the potential to enhance speech and language therapy engagement and outcomes. However, a greater understanding of the nature and potential benefits of these interventions…

Purpose: The goal of this study was to investigate the initial feasibility of the Communication Matrix Professional Development Program (CMPDP), an online program created to help educational professionals teaching students with complex communication needs. Method: A one-group pretest-posttest design was employed with 102 educational professionals…

Background: Communication partner training (CPT) programmes for health and care staff working with people with the neurologically based communication disorders associated with stroke, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and dementia are efficacious in improving communication. However, current programmes are lengthy and disorder specific, and therefore…

Epidemiology is presented as a tool for the primary prevention of a broad range of factors associated with increased rates of communication disorders. The potential use of the PRECEDE-PROCEED model of program planning and evaluation to design comprehensive, community-based prevention programs for communication disorders is discussed. (Author/CR)

The report describes the development and accomplishments of the Early Start Preschool Program (Vineland, New Jersey), a project to overcome developmental delays in communication and learning through a structured curriculum, parent training and participation, and a model nutrition program. Six outcome objectives, including objectives of gain in…

A group service delivery model was utilized to treat nine severely speech-impaired preschool children. The program's efficiency and favorable dismissal rate were felt to be due to the specialized service time received by the children, the targeting of phonological patterns (rather than individual phonemes), group interactions, and a home program.…

This conference proceedings document serves to establish the state of the art, highlight important methodological and conceptual issues, and identify priorities for future research in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems. The document includes the papers from two opening presentations, issue papers and reactant papers, a…

A language-based social skills instruction intervention used to prepare middle and high school students with emotional/behavioral disorders for return to less restrictive public school placements was evaluated. The daily 50-minute intervention focused on repetitive readings, recitations, and role-playing of skill step procedures until students…