Training Educational Assistants to Facilitate Grammatical Development of Adolescents Who Use AAC
Main Article Content
Abstract
AAC can enhance communication, improve academic achievement, and increase societal participation for individuals with complex communication needs. Unfortunately, many students lack access to effective interventions due to a lack of experienced professionals and stakeholders. Research suggests educational assistants can be trained to support the communication of these children, but there is a notable gap regarding adolescent students. This investigation used a single-subject, multiple-baseline design to examine the effects of an educational-assistant-delivered intervention on the morpho-syntactical productions of adolescents who require AAC. Analyses indicated that an effective communication partner-delivered intervention program can lead to gains for adolescents who use aided communication.
Downloads
Article Details
Following is the journal's Publishing Agreement. The submitting author will be asked to sign an agreement form once the submission has been accepted for publication.
A. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
I (Author) hereby warrant that:
- The article I have submitted to the Journal for review is original, has been written by the stated authors and has not been published elsewhere.
- The article is not currently being considered for publication by any other journal and will not be submitted for such review while under review by this Journal.
- The article contains no libelous or other unlawful statements and does not contain any materials that violate any personal or proprietary rights of any other person or entity.
- I have obtained written permission from copyright owners for any excerpts from copyrighted works that are included and have credited the sources in my article.
- If I am using any personal details or images of a third person, I have obtained written permission or consent from this person.
- If the article was prepared jointly with other authors, I have informed the co-author(s) of the terms of this publishing agreement and that I am signing on their behalf as their agent, and I am authorized to do so.
- The Author assigns to the Journal the right to publish, republish, transmit, sell, distribute and otherwise use the Contribution in whole or in part in electronic and print editions of the Journal throughout the world, in all languages and in all media of expression now known or later developed.
- The Author agrees that the Journal may, without changing the content, translate the Contribution to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation.
- The Author agrees that the Journal may keep more than one copy of this Contribution for purposes of security, back-up and preservation.
- Reproduction, posting, transmission or other distribution or use of the final Contribution in whole or in part in any medium by the Author as permitted by this Agreement requires a proper citation to the Journal suitable in APA form. Additionally, the following copyright statement must be included: “Copyright YEAR by the Division for Physical, Health and Multiple Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children. Reproduced with permission from Physical Disabilities: Education and Related Services.”
C. PERMITTED USES BY AUTHOR
As Author, the Journal licenses you to certain uses of the Contribution. These rights are retained and permitted without the need to obtain specific permission from the Journal. These include:
- the right to make copies (print or electronic) of the journal article for your own personal use, including for your own teaching use;
- the right to make copies and distribute copies (including via e-mail) of the journal article to research colleagues, for personal use by such colleagues;
- the right to present the content of the journal article at a meeting or conference;
- patent and trademark rights and rights to any process or procedure described in the journal article;
- the right to use the journal article or any part thereof in a printed compilation of works of the author, such as collected writings or lecture notes (subsequent to publication of the article in the journal); and
- the right to prepare other derivative works, to extend the journal article into book-length form, or to otherwise re-use portions or excerpts in other works, with full acknowledgement of its original publication in the Journal.
References
References
American Speech-Language Hearing Association. (2002). Augmentative and alternative communication: Knowledge and skills for service delivery. ASHA Supplement, 22, 97–106.
American Speech-Language Hearing Association. (2016). Scope of practice in speech-language pathology. Available from www. asha.org/policy
Bedrosian, J. (1999). Efficacy research issues in AAC: Interactive storybook reading. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 15(1), 45-55.
Beukelman, D., & Mirenda, P. (2005). Augmentative and alternative communication: Management of severe communication impairments (3rd ed.). Brookes.
Beukelman, D., & Mirenda, P. (2013). Augmentative and alternative communication: Supporting children and adults with complex communication needs (4th ed.). Brookes.
Binger, C., Kent-Walsh, J., Ewing, C., & Taylor, S. (2010). Teaching educational assistants to facilitate the multisymbol message productions of young students who require augmentative and alternative communication. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 19, 108-120.
Binger, C., & Light, J. (2007). The effect of aided AAC modeling on the expression of multi-symbol messages by preschoolers who use AAC. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 23, 30-43.
Binger, C., & Light, J. (2008). The morphology and syntax of individuals who use AAC: Research review and implications for effective practice. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 24(2), 123-138.
Blockberger, S., & Sutton, A. (2003). Toward linguistic competence: Language experiences and knowledge of children with extremely limited speech. In J. Light, D. Beukelman, D., & J. Reichle (Eds.), Communicate competence for individuals who use AAC: From research to effective practice (pp. 63-106). Brookes.
Botting, N. (2002). Narrative as a tool for the assessment of linguistic and pragmatic impairments. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 18, 1-21.
Bracken, B. A., & McCallum, R. S. (1998). Universal nonverbal intelligence test (UNIT). Riverside Publishing Company.
Brown, R. (1973). A first language. The early stages. Harvard University Press.
Beukelman, D. R., & Mirenda, P. (2013) Augmentative and alternative communication: Supporting children and adults with complex communication needs. Brookes.
Busk, P. L., & Serlin, R. C. (1992). Meta-analysis for single-case research. In T. R. Kratochwill & J. R. Levin (Eds.), Single-case research designs and analysis: New directions for psychology and education (pp. 187–212). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Byiers, B. J., Reichle, J., & Symons, F. J. (2012). Single-subject experimental design for evidence-based practice. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 21, 397-414.
Douglas, S. N., Light, J., & McNaughton, D. B. (2012). Teaching paraeducators to support the communication of young children with complex communication needs. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 33, 91-101.
Dowden, P. (1997). Augmentative and alternative communication decisions making for children with severely unintelligible speech. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 13, 48-58.
Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, D. M. (2007). Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (4th ed.). NCS Pearson.
Harvey, M. T., May, M. E., & Kennedy, C. H. (2004). Nonconcurrent multiple baseline designs and the evaluation of educational systems, Journal of Behavioral Education, 13(4), 267-276.
Holcombe, A., Wolery, M., & Gast, D. L. (1994). Comparative single-subject research. Descriptions of designs and discussions of problems, Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 14(1), 119-145.
Kaufman, A. S., & Kaufman, N. L. (2004). Kaufman brief intelligence test (2nd ed.). Pearson.
Kent-Walsh, J., & McNaughton, D. (2005). Communication partner instruction in AAC: Present practices and future directions. Augmentative & Alternative Communication, 21, 195-204.
Kent-Walsh, J., Binger, C., & Malani, M. D. (2010). Teaching partners to support the communication skills of young children who use AAC: Lessons from the ImPAACT program. Early Childhood Services, 4 (3), 155-170.
Kent-Walsh, J., Murza, K, Malani, M., & Binger, C. (2015). Effects of communication partner instruction on the communication of individuals who use AAC: A meta-analysis. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 31(4), 271-284.
Light, J. (1989). Toward a definition of communicative competence for individuals using augmentative and alternative communication systems. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 5, 137-144.
Light, J. (1997). “Communication is the essence of human life:” Reflections on communicative competence. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 13, 61-70.
Light, J. (2003). “Shattering the silence:” The development of communicative competence by individuals who require augmentative and alternative communication. In J. Light, D. Beukelman & J. Reichle (Eds.), Communicative competence of individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (pp. 163-195). Brookes.
Light, J., & Drager, K. (2007). AAC technologies for young children with complex communication needs: State of science and future research directions. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 23, 204-216.
Light, J., McNaughton, D., Beukelman, D., Fager, S. K., Freid-Oken, M., Jakobs, T., & Jakobs, E. (2019). Challenges and opportunities in augmentative and alternative communication: Research and technology development to enhance communication and participation for individuals with complex communication needs. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 35, 1-12.
Maas, E., & Farinella, K. A. (2012). Random versus blocked practice in treatment for childhood apraxia of speech. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 55, 561–578.
Marcus, G. F. (1993). Negative evidence in language acquisition. Cognition, 46, 53-85.
McHugh, M. L. (2012). Interrater reliability: The kappa statistic. Bichemia Medica, 22, 276-282.
McReynolds, L. V., & Kearns, K. P. (1983). Single-subject experimental designs in communication disorders. University Park Press.
Shire, S. Y., & Jones, N. (2015). Communication partners supporting children with complex communication needs who use AAC: A systematic review. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 37 (1), 3-15.
Smith, M., & Grove, N. (2003). Asymmetry in input and output for individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication. In J. Light, D. Beukelman, D., & J. Reichle (Eds.), Communicative competence of individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (pp. 163-195). Brookes.
Smith, M. (2015). Language development of individuals who require aided communication: Reflections on the state of science and future research directions. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 31(3), 215-233.
Solomon-Rice, P., & Soto, G. (2014). Facilitating vocabulary in toddlers using AAC: A preliminary study comparing focused stimulation and augmented input. Communications Disorders Quarterly, 35(4), 204-215.
Sutton, A., Soto, G., & Blockberger, S. (2002). Grammatical issues in graphic symbol communication. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 18, 192-204.
Tomasello, M. (2003). Constructing a language: A usage-based theory of language acquisition. Harvard University Press.
Wiig, E. H., Semel, E., & Secord, W. A. (2013). Clinical evaluation of language fundamentals (5th ed.). NCS Pearson.
Yoder, P., & Warren, S. (1998). Maternal responsivity predicts the prelinguistic communication intervention that facilitates generalized intentional communication. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 41, 1207-1219.