The View From an Allied Professional: A Team's Journey and Lessons Learned Exploring Augmentative and Alternative Communication for an Adult With Autism
Merle J. Crawford
Abstract
Merle J. Crawford
Abstract
No AccessSIG 12 Augmentative and Alternative CommunicationArticle1 Jan 2018The View From an Allied Professional: A Team's Journey and Lessons Learned Exploring Augmentative and Alternative Communication for an Adult With Autism Merle J. Crawford Merle J. Crawford Occupational Therapist, Special Educator, and Board-Certified Behavior Analyst, Private PracticeHummelstown, PA Google Scholar More articles by this author https://doi.org/10.1044/persp3.SIG12.46 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationTrack Citations ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In Working with an adult who is nonverbal has taught team members important lessons to apply to individuals with autism spectrum disorder to help them become competent communicators. A case study of a young adult who has autism and an intellectual disability who receives services at home and in a clinic is presented by an allied health professional. A history of unaided and aided augmentative and alternative communication systems explored with the young man is discussed as well as the importance of motivation, communicative intent, initiation, gesture use, prompt dependence, generalization, and the sequence of typical development. Although his communication is still limited, he continues to exhibit functional gains because of ongoing assessment and treatment of barriers to skill acquisition as well as team collaboration. References Bondy, A. S., & Frost, L. A. (1994). The picture exchange communication system.Focus on Autistic Behavior, 9(3), 1–19. CrossrefGoogle Scholar Brown, R. (1973). A first language: The early stages. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar Bruner, J. (1981). The social context of language acquisition.Language & Communication, 1, 155–178. CrossrefGoogle Scholar Chiang, H. M., & Carter, M. (2008). Spontaneity of communication in individuals with autism.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(4), 693–705. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Crais, E., Douglas, D. D., & Campbell, C. C. (2004). The intersection of the development of gestures and intentionality.Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 47(3), 678–694. ASHAWireGoogle Scholar Crais, E., & Ogletree, B. T. (2016). Prelinguistic communication development.In D. Keen, H. Meadan, N. C. Brady, & J. W. Halle (Eds.), Prelinguistic and minimally verbal communicators on the autism spectrum (pp. 9–32). Singapore: Springer. Google Scholar DiStefano, C., & Kasari, C. (2016). The window to language is still open: Distinguishing between preverbal and minimally verbal children with ASD.Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 1(1), 4–11. ASHAWireGoogle Scholar Edwards, T. L., Watkins, E. E., Lotfizadeh, A. D., & Poling, A. (2012). Intervention research to benefit people with autism: How old are the participants?.Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6(3), 996–999. Google Scholar Ellawadi, A. B., & Weismer, S. E. (2014). Assessing gestures in young children with autism spectrum disorder.Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 57(2), 524–531. ASHAWireGoogle Scholar Ganz, J. B. (2014). Aided augmentative and alternative communication: An overview.In J. B. Ganz (Ed.), Aided augmentative communication for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (pp. 13–30). New York, NY: Springer. Google Scholar Goldin, R. L., & Matson, J. L. (2017) Current status and future directions.In J. Matson (Ed.), Handbook of treatments for autism spectrum disorder (pp. 477–484). New York, NY: Springer. Google Scholar Grandin, T. (1995). Thinking in pictures: And other reports from my life with autism. New York, NY: Doubleday. Google Scholar Hudry, K., Leadbitter, K., Temple, K., Slonims, V., McConachie, H., Aldred, C., … PACT Consortium. (2010). Preschoolers with autism show greater impairment in receptive compared with expressive language abilities.International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 45(6), 681–690. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Hume, K., Loftin, R., & Lantz, J. (2009). Increasing independence in autism spectrum disorders: A review of three focused interventions.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39(9), 1329–1338. Google Scholar Hutchins, T. L., & Prelock, P. A. (2014). Using communication to reduce challenging behaviors in individuals with autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disability.Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics, 23(1), 41–55. Google Scholar Iverson, J. M., & Wozniak, R. H. (2016). Transitions to intentional and symbolic communication in typical development and in autism spectrum disorder.In D. Keen, H. Meadan, N. C. Brady, & J. W. Halle (Eds.), Prelinguistic and minimally verbal communicators on the autism spectrum (pp. 51–72). Singapore: Springer. CrossrefGoogle Scholar Johnston, S. S., Reichle, J., Feeley, K. M., & Jones, E. A. (2012). AAC strategies for individuals with moderate to severe disabilities. Baltimore, MD: Brookes. Google Scholar Klintwall, L., Macari, S., Eikeseth, S., & Chawarska, K. (2015). Interest level in 2-year-olds with autism spectrum disorder predicts rate of verbal, nonverbal, and adaptive skill acquisition.Autism, 19(8), 925–933. Google Scholar Lederer, S. H. (2015). Teaching children with language delays to say or sign more: Promises and potential pitfalls.Young Exceptional Children, 21(1), 7–21. Google Scholar Light, J., & McNaughton, D. (2015). Designing AAC research and intervention to improve outcomes for individuals with complex communication needs.Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 31(2), 85–96. CrossrefGoogle Scholar Little, L. M., Sideris, J., Ausderau, K., & Baranek, G. T. (2014). Activity participation among children with autism spectrum disorder.American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68(2), 177–185. Google Scholar Lobban-Shymko, J., Im-Bolter, N., & Freeman, N. (2017). Early social communicative skills as predictors of symptom severity in autism spectrum disorder.Autism & Developmental Language Impairments, 2, 1–11. Google Scholar Lynch, G. T. (2016). AAC for individuals with autism spectrum disorder: Assessment and establishing treatment goals.In T. Cardon (Ed.), Technology and the treatment of children with autism spectrum disorder (pp. 3–25). New York, NY: Springer. Google Scholar Neely, L. C., Ganz, J. B., Davis, J. L., Boles, M. B., Hong, E. R., Ninci, J., & Gilliland, W. D. (2016). Generalization and maintenance of functional living skills for individuals with autism spectrum disorder: A review and meta-analysis.Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 3(1), 37–47. Google Scholar Peeters, D., Chu, M., Holler, J., Özyürek, A., & Hagoort, P. (2013). Getting to the point: The influence of communicative intent on the kinematics of pointing gestures.In M. Knauff, M. Pauen, & N. Sebanz (Eds.), Proceedings of the 35th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 1127–1132). Austin, TX: Cognitive Science Society. Google Scholar Plesa Skwerer, D., Jordan, S. E., Brukilacchio, B. H., & Tager-Flusberg, H. (2016). Comparing methods for assessing receptive language skills in minimally verbal children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders.Autism, 20(5), 591–604. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Reichle, J., Ganz, J., Drager, K., & Parker-McGowan, Q. (2016). Augmentative and alternative communication applications for persons with ASD and complex communication needs.In D. Keen, H. Meadan, N. Brady, & J. Halle (Eds.), Prelinguistic and minimally verbal communicators on the autism spectrum (pp. 179–213). Singapore: Springer. Google Scholar Rescorla, L., & Achenbach, T. M. (2002). Use of the Language Development Survey (LDS) in a national probability sample of children 18 to 35 months old.Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 45(4), 733–743. ASHAWireGoogle Scholar Schreibman, L., Dawson, G., Stahmer, A. C., Landa, R., Rogers, S. J., McGee, G. G., … Halladay, A. (2015). Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions: Empirically validated treatments for autism spectrum disorder.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(8), 2411–2428. CrossrefGoogle Scholar Shumway, S., & Wetherby, A. M. (2009). Communicative acts of children with autism spectrum disorders in the second year of life.Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 52(5), 1139–1156. ASHAWireGoogle Scholar Smith, K. A., Ayres, K. A., Alexander, J., Ledford, J. R., Shepley, C., & Shepley, S. B. (2016). Initiation and generalization of self-instructional skills in adolescents with autism and intellectual disability.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(4), 1196–1209. Google Scholar Spear, M. A., Karsten, A., & White, E. A. (2018). Restricted interests and autism: Further assessment of preferences for a variety of leisure items.Behavior Modification, 42(1), 108–125. Google Scholar Stocco, C. S., Thompson, R. H., & Rodriguez, N. M. (2011). Restricted interests and teacher presentation of items.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 44(3), 499–512. Google Scholar Tager-Flusberg, H., & Kasari, C. (2013). Minimally verbal school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder: The neglected end of the spectrum.Autism Research, 6, 468–478. CrossrefGoogle Scholar University of Utah College of Education. (2015). Terrell Howard Bell. Retrieved from http://education.utah.edu/alumni/profiles/terrell-bell.php Google Scholar Warshaw, S. P. (1992–2013). HELP Strands. Palo Alto, CA: VORT Corporation. Google Scholar Williams, G., & Laitinen, R. E. (2017). A brief report on the Verbal Behavior Curriculum (VBC) to teach children with autism and other language disorders.Behavioral Development Bulletin, 22(1), 258–265. Google Scholar Wilson, B., Beamish, W., Hay, S., & Attwood, T. (2014). Prompt dependency beyond childhood: Adults with Asperger's syndrome and intimate relationships.Journal of Relationships Research, 5(e11), 1–11. Google Scholar Winder, B. M., Wozniak, R. H., Parladé, M. V., & Iverson, J. M. (2013). Spontaneous initiation of communication in infants at low and heightened risk for autism spectrum disorders.Developmental Psychology, 49(10), 1931–1942. CrossrefGoogle Scholar Additional Resources FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 3Issue 12January 2018Pages: 46-54 Get Permissions Add to your Mendeley library HistoryReceived: Nov 19, 2017Revised: Feb 10, 2018Accepted: Mar 26, 2018 Published in issue: Jan 1, 2018 Metrics Topicsasha-topicsasha-sigsasha-article-typesCopyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2018 American Speech-Language-Hearing AssociationPDF downloadLoading ...
A significance statement is not available in the OpenAlex record.
A contribution statement is not available in the OpenAlex record.
Method details are not available in the OpenAlex metadata.
Findings are not separately available in the OpenAlex metadata.
Limitations are not available in the OpenAlex metadata.
Application details are not available in the OpenAlex metadata.
No AccessSIG 12 Augmentative and Alternative CommunicationArticle1 Jan 2018The View From an Allied Professional: A Team's Journey and Lessons Learned Exploring Augmentative and Alternative Communication for an Adult With Autism Merle J. Crawford Merle J. Crawford Occupational Therapist, Special Educator, and Board-Certified Behavior Analyst, Private PracticeHummelstown, PA Google Scholar More articles by this author https://doi.org/10.1044/persp3.SIG12.46 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationTrack Citations ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In Working with an adult who is nonverbal has taught team members important lessons to apply to individuals with autism spectrum disorder to help them become competent communicators. A case study of a young adult who has autism and an intellectual disability who receives services at home and in a clinic is presented by an allied health professional. A history of unaided and aided augmentative and alternative communication systems explored with the young man is discussed as well as the importance of motivation, communicative intent, initiation, gesture use, prompt dependence, generalization, and the sequence of typical development. Although his communication is still limited, he continues to exhibit functional gains because of ongoing assessment and treatment of barriers to skill acquisition as well as team collaboration. References Bondy, A. S., & Frost, L. A. (1994). The picture exchange communication system.Focus on Autistic Behavior, 9(3), 1–19. CrossrefGoogle Scholar Brown, R. (1973). A first language: The early stages. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar Bruner, J. (1981). The social context of language acquisition.Language & Communication, 1, 155–178. CrossrefGoogle Scholar Chiang, H. M., & Carter, M. (2008). Spontaneity of communication in individuals with autism.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(4), 693–705. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Crais, E., Douglas, D. D., & Campbell, C. C. (2004). The intersection of the development of gestures and intentionality.Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 47(3), 678–694. ASHAWireGoogle Scholar Crais, E., & Ogletree, B. T. (2016). Prelinguistic communication development.In D. Keen, H. Meadan, N. C. Brady, & J. W. Halle (Eds.), Prelinguistic and minimally verbal communicators on the autism spectrum (pp. 9–32). Singapore: Springer. Google Scholar DiStefano, C., & Kasari, C. (2016). The window to language is still open: Distinguishing between preverbal and minimally verbal children with ASD.Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 1(1), 4–11. ASHAWireGoogle Scholar Edwards, T. L., Watkins, E. E., Lotfizadeh, A. D., & Poling, A. (2012). Intervention research to benefit people with autism: How old are the participants?.Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6(3), 996–999. Google Scholar Ellawadi, A. B., & Weismer, S. E. (2014). Assessing gestures in young children with autism spectrum disorder.Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 57(2), 524–531. ASHAWireGoogle Scholar Ganz, J. B. (2014). Aided augmentative and alternative communication: An overview.In J. B. Ganz (Ed.), Aided augmentative communication for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (pp. 13–30). New York, NY: Springer. Google Scholar Goldin, R. L., & Matson, J. L. (2017) Current status and future directions.In J. Matson (Ed.), Handbook of treatments for autism spectrum disorder (pp. 477–484). New York, NY: Springer. Google Scholar Grandin, T. (1995). Thinking in pictures: And other reports from my life with autism. New York, NY: Doubleday. Google Scholar Hudry, K., Leadbitter, K., Temple, K., Slonims, V., McConachie, H., Aldred, C., … PACT Consortium. (2010). Preschoolers with autism show greater impairment in receptive compared with expressive language abilities.International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 45(6), 681–690. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Hume, K., Loftin, R., & Lantz, J. (2009). Increasing independence in autism spectrum disorders: A review of three focused interventions.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39(9), 1329–1338. Google Scholar Hutchins, T. L., & Prelock, P. A. (2014). Using communication to reduce challenging behaviors in individuals with autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disability.Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics, 23(1), 41–55. Google Scholar Iverson, J. M., & Wozniak, R. H. (2016). Transitions to intentional and symbolic communication in typical development and in autism spectrum disorder.In D. Keen, H. Meadan, N. C. Brady, & J. W. Halle (Eds.), Prelinguistic and minimally verbal communicators on the autism spectrum (pp. 51–72). Singapore: Springer. CrossrefGoogle Scholar Johnston, S. S., Reichle, J., Feeley, K. M., & Jones, E. A. (2012). AAC strategies for individuals with moderate to severe disabilities. Baltimore, MD: Brookes. Google Scholar Klintwall, L., Macari, S., Eikeseth, S., & Chawarska, K. (2015). Interest level in 2-year-olds with autism spectrum disorder predicts rate of verbal, nonverbal, and adaptive skill acquisition.Autism, 19(8), 925–933. Google Scholar Lederer, S. H. (2015). Teaching children with language delays to say or sign more: Promises and potential pitfalls.Young Exceptional Children, 21(1), 7–21. Google Scholar Light, J., & McNaughton, D. (2015). Designing AAC research and intervention to improve outcomes for individuals with complex communication needs.Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 31(2), 85–96. CrossrefGoogle Scholar Little, L. M., Sideris, J., Ausderau, K., & Baranek, G. T. (2014). Activity participation among children with autism spectrum disorder.American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68(2), 177–185. Google Scholar Lobban-Shymko, J., Im-Bolter, N., & Freeman, N. (2017). Early social communicative skills as predictors of symptom severity in autism spectrum disorder.Autism & Developmental Language Impairments, 2, 1–11. Google Scholar Lynch, G. T. (2016). AAC for individuals with autism spectrum disorder: Assessment and establishing treatment goals.In T. Cardon (Ed.), Technology and the treatment of children with autism spectrum disorder (pp. 3–25). New York, NY: Springer. Google Scholar Neely, L. C., Ganz, J. B., Davis, J. L., Boles, M. B., Hong, E. R., Ninci, J., & Gilliland, W. D. (2016). Generalization and maintenance of functional living skills for individuals with autism spectrum disorder: A review and meta-analysis.Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 3(1), 37–47. Google Scholar Peeters, D., Chu, M., Holler, J., Özyürek, A., & Hagoort, P. (2013). Getting to the point: The influence of communicative intent on the kinematics of pointing gestures.In M. Knauff, M. Pauen, & N. Sebanz (Eds.), Proceedings of the 35th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 1127–1132). Austin, TX: Cognitive Science Society. Google Scholar Plesa Skwerer, D., Jordan, S. E., Brukilacchio, B. H., & Tager-Flusberg, H. (2016). Comparing methods for assessing receptive language skills in minimally verbal children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders.Autism, 20(5), 591–604. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Reichle, J., Ganz, J., Drager, K., & Parker-McGowan, Q. (2016). Augmentative and alternative communication applications for persons with ASD and complex communication needs.In D. Keen, H. Meadan, N. Brady, & J. Halle (Eds.), Prelinguistic and minimally verbal communicators on the autism spectrum (pp. 179–213). Singapore: Springer. Google Scholar Rescorla, L., & Achenbach, T. M. (2002). Use of the Language Development Survey (LDS) in a national probability sample of children 18 to 35 months old.Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 45(4), 733–743. ASHAWireGoogle Scholar Schreibman, L., Dawson, G., Stahmer, A. C., Landa, R., Rogers, S. J., McGee, G. G., … Halladay, A. (2015). Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions: Empirically validated treatments for autism spectrum disorder.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(8), 2411–2428. CrossrefGoogle Scholar Shumway, S., & Wetherby, A. M. (2009). Communicative acts of children with autism spectrum disorders in the second year of life.Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 52(5), 1139–1156. ASHAWireGoogle Scholar Smith, K. A., Ayres, K. A., Alexander, J., Ledford, J. R., Shepley, C., & Shepley, S. B. (2016). Initiation and generalization of self-instructional skills in adolescents with autism and intellectual disability.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(4), 1196–1209. Google Scholar Spear, M. A., Karsten, A., & White, E. A. (2018). Restricted interests and autism: Further assessment of preferences for a variety of leisure items.Behavior Modification, 42(1), 108–125. Google Scholar Stocco, C. S., Thompson, R. H., & Rodriguez, N. M. (2011). Restricted interests and teacher presentation of items.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 44(3), 499–512. Google Scholar Tager-Flusberg, H., & Kasari, C. (2013). Minimally verbal school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder: The neglected end of the spectrum.Autism Research, 6, 468–478. CrossrefGoogle Scholar University of Utah College of Education. (2015). Terrell Howard Bell. Retrieved from http://education.utah.edu/alumni/profiles/terrell-bell.php Google Scholar Warshaw, S. P. (1992–2013). HELP Strands. Palo Alto, CA: VORT Corporation. Google Scholar Williams, G., & Laitinen, R. E. (2017). A brief report on the Verbal Behavior Curriculum (VBC) to teach children with autism and other language disorders.Behavioral Development Bulletin, 22(1), 258–265. Google Scholar Wilson, B., Beamish, W., Hay, S., & Attwood, T. (2014). Prompt dependency beyond childhood: Adults with Asperger's syndrome and intimate relationships.Journal of Relationships Research, 5(e11), 1–11. Google Scholar Winder, B. M., Wozniak, R. H., Parladé, M. V., & Iverson, J. M. (2013). Spontaneous initiation of communication in infants at low and heightened risk for autism spectrum disorders.Developmental Psychology, 49(10), 1931–1942. CrossrefGoogle Scholar Additional Resources FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 3Issue 12January 2018Pages: 46-54 Get Permissions Add to your Mendeley library HistoryReceived: Nov 19, 2017Revised: Feb 10, 2018Accepted: Mar 26, 2018 Published in issue: Jan 1, 2018 Metrics Topicsasha-topicsasha-sigsasha-article-typesCopyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2018 American Speech-Language-Hearing AssociationPDF downloadLoading ...
Key concepts: Augmentative and alternative communication, Autism, Augmentative, Psychology, Professional development, Autism spectrum disorder, Medical education, Developmental psychology