By definition children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience difficulty understanding and using language. Accordingly, visual and picture-based strategies such as the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) show promise in ameliorating speech and language deficits. This study reports the results of a multiple baseline across…

Literacy may be one of the most important instructional areas for enhancing quality of life for all students. One way to promote literacy skills is through engaging students in the shared reading of a story. In this study, methods for planning and implementing shared stories for three students with multiple disabilities was evaluated via a…

Data about communication breakdown were gathered through interviews of care providers and mailed surveys of special education teachers and speech and language pathologists of 17 children with cerebral palsy and significant language delay. Most care providers indicated that children used personalized communication systems and that these frequently…

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the beliefs and skills of community early childhood lead teachers and community child care center administrators participating in Florida's Four Year Old Voluntary Pre-kindergarten (VPK) Program in five rural, north Florida counties hold regarding the inclusion of young children with disabilities…

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of training paraeducators on (a) paraeducator prompting use of augmentative communication (AAC) systems, (b) paraeducator responding to student requests, (c) student use of AAC, and (d) student problem behavior via a series of multiple probe designs. Participants were three paraeducators and…

The current study investigated the effectiveness of an integrated word identification and communication intervention for children with complex communication needs. Using a nonconcurrent, multiple baseline design, the study involved three participants who completed 75 lessons across 4 to 6 weeks of instruction. All three participants improved their…

Addressing the needs of children with autism in the school context is an essential component of facilitating the success of these students. This article provides an overview of scientifically based and promising interventions that may be used to promote the social and cognitive competence of children with autism, focusing on the research base of…

Preliminary findings and implications from this study were presented at the 45th Annual Convention of the International Reading Association in Indianapolis, Indiana, April 30, 2000. The author would like to express sincere gratitude to the kindergarten teacher who cooperated with this study and willingly allowed the researcher unlimited access to…

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…

The aim of this study is to examine whether the asymmetrical pattern of communication usually found between people who use augmentative and alternative communication and their partners using natural speech was also found in the interaction between non-vocal young preschool children with cerebral palsy and their parents. Three parent-child dyads…

This examination of the risks and benefits of using facilitated communication with individuals having autism or mental retardation concludes that the risks to these individuals, to families and teachers, and to society of this unsupported methodology are great and that the development of independent augmentative communication strategies is more…

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is increasingly being advocated as the preferred approach to practice in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). The EBP process involves multiple steps. The asking of a well-built question is the first step in the quest for answers. At the same time it is also often the first stumbling block for…

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) holds the potential to enable people with severe oral communication impairments to participate more fully in society. However, despite the development of increasingly sophisticated communication aids, as well as recent UK policy initiatives aimed at improving access to them, some major obstacles…

In a previous study, the authors identified final plosive voicing contrast as the highest single error source in dysarthria associated with Friedreich's Ataxia in a group of Irish English-speaking participants. This study aimed to determine the acoustic features underlying misperceptions of voicing status and implications for clinical management.…

This study reports descriptive findings regarding the scaffolding strategies used by an experienced practitioner during a shared book reading session with a student who uses augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Specific scaffolding strategies are described and, in addition, the level of semantic complexity targeted by the practitioner…