Case Studies of Intermediate Steps/Between AAC Evaluations and Implementation

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 150-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheela Stuart ◽  
Christopher Ritthaler
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Motor Planning ◽  
Second Opinion ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Successful Communication ◽  
School Based ◽  
Speech Generating Device ◽  
Communication Needs ◽  
And Behavior

Abstract This article presents two case studies of children with complex communication needs, including a diagnosis of autism. Although different in age and overall diagnoses, both children primarily used behaviors, gestures, and limited overall vocalizations for communication. In each case, some pictures and signing had been intermittently incorporated into their school programs with very little success. The school-based augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) teams had used the candidacy model and decided that, until the children made gains in cognition and behavior, they could not use any type of speech generating device. In each instance, the child's parent disagreed and requested a second AAC evaluation. The second opinion evaluating center incorporated Language Acquisition Though Motor Planning (LAMP) to utilize a speech generating device for participation in some motivating activities. Results were sufficiently positive to support trial use of this approach and private outpatient sessions were provided. The article includes a brief overview of the resulting journey: the give-and-take process between second opinion center, parents, and school to arrive at a form of successful communication for each child.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Assessment in the Schools

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa A. Proctor ◽  
Jill Oswalt
Keyword(s):  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Receptive Language ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Literacy Assessment ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Complex Communication Needs ◽  
Communication Assessment ◽  
School Based ◽  
Main Portion ◽  
Communication Needs

Abstract The purpose of this article is to review augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) assessment issues in the schools. Initially, the article discusses the role and responsibilities of school-based speech-language pathologists in the assessment of children with complex communication needs. Next, the article briefly reflects on the importance of teaming in device selection for children with AAC needs. The main portion of the article provides information on assessment tools and resources related to comprehensive assessment for children with complex communication needs. This includes information on assessment of speech production and the relevance in AAC assessment. This is followed by tools and resources for receptive language and expressive language assessment. Also included in this main section is information on tools that examine academic and social participation. Finally, information on literacy assessment for student with complex communication needs is provided. The intent of the article is to provide the reader with a brief overview of assessment tools and resources for children with complex communication needs.

scholarly journals Developing a Culture of Successful Communication in Acute Care Settings: Part II. Solving Institutional Issues

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 1037-1043
Author(s):  
Sarah Marshall ◽  
Richard R. Hurtig
Keyword(s):  
Acute Care ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Shared Resources ◽  
Institutional Barriers ◽  
Successful Communication ◽  
Institutional Issues ◽  
Patient Provider Communication ◽  
Communication Needs ◽  
Institutional Challenges

Purpose Establishing services for hospitalized patients with complex communication needs (CCNs) requires identifying and addressing both patient-based and institutional barriers. Although the previous paper ( Marshall & Hurtig, 2019 ) focused on patient-based barriers, this paper addresses overcoming institutional barriers. Method We present a series of cases to illustrate the institutional challenges in meeting the CCNs of patients in an acute care setting. Results Each case illustrates how the deployment of augmentative and alternative communication tools required addressing institutional/systems barriers and how critical collaborations help patients with CCNs to more effectively communicate with caregivers and participate in their care. Conclusion Building a culture of improved patient–provider communication involves establishing a wider range of interprofessional collaborations and shared resources in order to effectively provide patients with CCNs the tools to summon assistance and communicate with their caregivers.

scholarly journals Comparing the Effects of Speech-Generating Device Display Organization on Symbol Comprehension and Use by Three Children With Developmental Delays

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Barton-Hulsey ◽  
Jane Wegner ◽  
Nancy C. Brady ◽  
Betty H. Bunce ◽  
Rose A. Sevcik
Keyword(s):  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Visual Scene ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Functional Communication ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Communication Assessment ◽  
Speech Generating Device ◽  
Symbol Comprehension ◽  
Communication Needs

Purpose Three children ages 3;6 to 5;3 with developmental and language delays were provided experience with a traditional grid-based display and a contextually organized visual scene display on a speech-generating device to illustrate considerations for practice and future research in augmentative and alternative communication assessment and intervention. Method Twelve symbols were taught in a grid display and visual scene display using aided input during dramatic play routines. Teaching sessions were 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week for 3 weeks. Symbol comprehension and use was assessed pre and post 3 weeks of experience. Results Comprehension of symbol vocabulary on both displays increased after 3 weeks of experience. Participants 1 and 2 used both displays largely for initiation. Participant 3 had limited expressive use of either display. Conclusions The methods used in this study demonstrate one way to inform individual differences in learning and preference for speech-generating device displays when making clinical decisions regarding augmentative and alternative communication supports for a child and their family. Future research should systematically examine the role of extant comprehension, symbol experience, functional communication needs, and the role of vocabulary type in the learning and use of grid displays versus visual scene displays.

Speech-Generating Device Funding and Patterns of Acquisition for Persons With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 155-160
Author(s):  
Laura J. Ball ◽  
Gary L. Pattee ◽  
Lewis Golinker ◽  
David R. Beukelman
Keyword(s):  
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Functional Communication ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Speech Generating Device ◽  
Communication Needs ◽  
Care Costs ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis

People with such severe and complex communication needs that they require speech-generating devices (SGDs) to meet daily communication needs come from all age groups and socioeconomic backgrounds (Beukelman & Mirenda, 2013). Among this group are people eligible for Medicare, which will provide payment for a percentage (typically 80 percent) of covered health care costs, including SGDs. Medicare eligibility extends to people age 65 and older and younger people who became disabled from non-work related causes. In this article, the authors first review Medicare coverage for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices beginning in the 1980s and subsequently document the SGD acquisition and access of 64 people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) whose speech became so severely limited that they required an SGD to support functional communication.

AAC and Families: Dispelling Myths and Empowering Parents

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (12) ◽  
pp. 10-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashlyn L. Smith ◽  
Andrea Barton-Hulsey ◽  
Nonye Nwosu
Keyword(s):  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
Helping Professionals ◽  
Language Outcomes ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Number Of Children ◽  
Successful Communication ◽  
Communication Needs

In recent years the availability of, and access to, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems has led to its use with an increasing number of children who require AAC and a variety of mobile technologies for communication. Research has long suggested that family participation in AAC interventions is vital for successful communication and language outcomes. Despite this, many children who could benefit from AAC are not receiving these services due to hesitancy on the part of professionals and/or parents to implement AAC strategies. This paper will identify five myths that professionals have about involving families in AAC interventions. We will dispel these myths through a careful examination of research and practice, with the goal of helping professionals empower parents to incorporate AAC into the daily lives of their young children with complex communication needs.

Guiding Student Clinicians as They Develop AAC Goals and Monitor Progress During School-Based Externship

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (12) ◽  
pp. 29-37
Author(s):  
Charles H. Carlin ◽  
Katie Boarman ◽  
Erin E. Brady
Keyword(s):  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Progress Monitoring ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Complex Communication Needs ◽  
School Based ◽  
Supervision Model ◽  
Communication Needs ◽  
The Continuum

Student clinicians find goal writing and progress monitoring to be difficult tasks to learn, especially when children on the caseload have complex communication needs (CCNs). School-based externship supervisors play an important role in developing students' understanding and competence in these skills. This article provides supervisors with strategies for instructing student clinicians to write goals and evaluate the effectiveness of services for children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Additionally, the authors adapt the Continuum of Supervision Model (Anderson, 1988) for supervisors who train students to write goals and monitor progress for children who use AAC.

Technology as a Language Tool: Augmentative and Alternative Communication in the Classroom

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-34
Author(s):  
Jennifer Kent-Walsh ◽  
Cathy Binger
Keyword(s):  
Classroom Environment ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Obvious Effect ◽  
School Based ◽  
Exponential Increase ◽  
Communication Needs

As evidenced across the articles in this issue of Perspectives, the modern classroom includes a range of technologies that afford educators, students, and families more ways to engage and communicate than many of us ever could have imagined. One group for which the technological revolution has had a particularly obvious effect in the school environment has been with students who are not able to meet all of their communication needs using natural speech. Students requiring the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) have enjoyed an exponential increase in options for communicating in all relevant environments, including the classroom. School-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) possess a range of skills that allows them to help facilitate functional use of AAC technologies in the classroom environment. Given that AAC technologies are language tools, SLPs can employ their expertise in language to implement relevant goals, objectives, and interventions for children with AAC needs. To illustrate this point, an AAC case study is presented along with sample goals and interventions that may be used in the school setting.

Lessons Learned From AAC Camp

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 81-85
Author(s):  
Janet Dodd
Keyword(s):  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Language Intervention ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Speech Language Pathologists ◽  
Complex Communication Needs ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
School Based ◽  
Communication Needs ◽  
New Millennium

Children who benefit from augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) need not only the support of individuals knowledgeable in the technologies themselves, but ones who understand the translation of language intervention principles to AAC. It is vital that school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) possess the knowledge and skills necessary for working with children who use AAC. The purpose of this article is to discuss what we have learned as we teach the new millennium of clinicians and how we can apply these lessons to the work we do with children with the most complex communication needs.

Guiding Student Clinicians as They Develop AAC Goals and Monitor Progress During School-Based Externship

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (12) ◽  
pp. 32-40
Author(s):  
Charles H. Carlin ◽  
Katie Boarman ◽  
Erin E. Brady
Keyword(s):  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Progress Monitoring ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Complex Communication Needs ◽  
School Based ◽  
Supervision Model ◽  
Communication Needs ◽  
The Continuum

Student clinicians find goal writing and progress monitoring to be difficult tasks to learn, especially when children on the caseload have complex communication needs (CCNs). School-based externship supervisors play an important role in developing students' understanding and competence in these skills. This article provides supervisors with strategies for instructing student clinicians to write goals and evaluate the effectiveness of services for children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Additionally, the authors adapt the Continuum of Supervision Model (Anderson, 1988) for supervisors who train students to write goals and monitor progress for children who use AAC.

Improving Patient Safety and Patient–Provider Communication

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 1017-1027 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard R. Hurtig ◽  
Rebecca M. Alper ◽  
Karen N. T. Bryant ◽  
Krista R. Davidson ◽  
Chelsea Bilskemper
Keyword(s):  
Acute Care ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Health Care Team ◽  
Provider Communication ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Patient Provider Communication ◽  
Acute Care Settings ◽  
Nurses Perceptions ◽  
Communication Needs ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Many hospitalized patients experience barriers to effective patient–provider communication that can negatively impact their care. These barriers include difficulty physically accessing the nurse call system, communicating about pain and other needs, or both. For many patients, these barriers are a result of their admitting condition and not of an underlying chronic disability. Speech-language pathologists have begun to address patients' short-term communication needs with an array of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) strategies. Method This study used a between-groups experimental design to evaluate the impact of providing patients with AAC systems so that they could summon help and communicate with their nurses. The study examined patients' and nurses' perceptions of the patients' ability to summon help and effectively communicate with caregivers. Results Patients who could summon their nurses and effectively communicate—with or without AAC—had significantly more favorable perceptions than those who could not. Conclusions This study suggests that AAC can be successfully used in acute care settings to help patients overcome access and communication barriers. Working with other members of the health care team is essential to building a “culture of communication” in acute care settings. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.9990962

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