Week 6 - Implementing and Evaluating the AAC Use Flashcards
Issues in AAC Implementation
Improve functional communication Increase language and literacy skills Improve speech production and comprehensibility using multiple modalities Decrease challenging behaviours Improve social communication
Family Involvement in AAC Implementation
Offer unique understanding of strengths, challenges, and needs of the individual who uses AAC
Often had input into:
- Type of AAC system used
- Daily communication needs
- Vocab incorporated into the system
- Strategies promoting effective use
- Planning teaching and staged implementation
Integral to ensuring carryover and functional use of the system in everyday life
Communication Rights and AAC
Need speech pathology and ancillary service support when using non-verbal communication:
- Access to the communication method
- Training to use that method
- Training for communication partners
Aims of AAC Interventions
- Build on the individual’s strengths and focus on the integration of skills to maximise communication
- Focus on the individual’s participation in real-world contexts
- Address psychosocial factors as well as skills
- Attend to extrinsic environmental factors as well as intrinsic factors related to the individual who requires AAC
Role of Speech Pathologists in AAC Implementation
- Provide training for the AAC user, educator, family members, and other people involved with the person about AAC use and impact
- Serve as a liaison between the family and the VOCA provider
- Part of multidisciplinary team, ensure effective communication with others
- Continue to involve family and user
- Ensure implementation plans are culturally and linguistically appropriate
- Document progress, make system modifications
- Provide education aimed at preventing abandonment etc for AAC devices
Natural Ability Interventions
Arise from tensions between AAC and speech development
Balance of intervention - focussing on natural ability and AAC relevant to the situation
Family concern about AAC often high with children with developmental issues
Culture = major consideration on whether families are open to idea of AAC
SP’s need to understand and respond to concerns about resource allocation and concerns about development
Clear plan around time/resource allocation
AAC Use with Non-Verbal Children
AAC doesn’t decrease speech acquisition in young children to speak
AAC can support natural speech with multimodal approach
Intervention for minimally verbal children with ASD showed that using a VOCA increased spontaneous vocalisations
AAC may decrease the frequency of frequency of challenging behaviour linked to communication breakdown
Environmental Intervention
Changes to physical layout and access
- Signs to remind people to use equipment
- Classroom placement
- Accommodation of equipment
- Light on screens for dynamic screen devices
- Mounting systems
Explain and Provide Examples of AAC System/Device Interventions
Instruction for both AAC users and facilitators/support people
How to use the system, and stages in teaching use of the system
Broad capabilities - including scope for expansion/change as skills change
Teaching opportunities - how to implement the system in daily activities
Natural contexts
Explain and Provide Examples of Aided Language Modelling
Promotes receptives language/language learning
The communication partner provides spoken words along with AAC symbols during communication tasks (eg. partner points to the AAC symbols while simultaneously talking)
Based on the concept that language input provides a model for language development
Can improve comprehension of AAC symbols, language and improved production in young children and people with cognitive challenges
Explain and Provide Examples of Behaviour Interventions
Used to teach desired communicative behaviours
Relevant for young children/people with cognitive issues
Based on operate principles of learning
- Differential reinforcement and reinforcement schedules
- Modelling
- Prompting
- Fading
Need to understand:
- Antecedents that elicit a behaviour
- Consequences that follow the behaviour
Specific approaches to behavioural training - Discrete Trial Training, Milieu Therapy, incidental teaching
Picture Exchange Communication Systems
Specific intervention program that follows a specific protocol
Designed for use with individual with ASD and other developmental disabilities
Shape a child’s expressive communication abilities using prompting and reinforcement strategies
PECS Steps
Six Phases:
- How to Communicate - exchanging single pictures for desired items/activities
- Distance and Persistence - generalising picture exchange to different situations and communication partners
- Picture Discrimination - selecting from 2+ pictures to request items/activities
- Sentence Structure - constructing simple sentences by adding a picture of the desired item to a sentence strip that begins with an ‘I want’ carrier phase
- Answering Question - using a picture to request an item/activity in response to the question ‘what do you want’
- Responsive and Spontaneous Commenting - using pictures to respond to a variety of question
Teaching Core Vocab
An initial set of core vocab is introduced and taught
As the individuals learns, more words added to display
Words from initial set remain in same location - minimises demands on memory and planning
Gradually increase variety of words (incl. range of pronouns, verbs, descriptors, question word etc) allow indiv to undertake a range of communicative functions
Visual Prompting
General - indicating to the communication system as a prompt to use it
Specific - pointing to a specific item/page
Can help AAC user to understand, anticipate & communicate, help decrease challenging behaviours
