RESUMO
The National Joint Committee for the Communication Needs of People With Severe Disabilities (NJC) reviewed literature regarding practices for people with severe disabilities in order to update guidance provided in documents originally published in 1992. Changes in laws, definitions, and policies that affect communication attainments by persons with severe disabilities are presented, along with guidance regarding assessment and intervention practices. A revised version of the Communication Bill of Rights, a powerful document that describes the communication rights of all individuals, including those with severe disabilities is included in this article. The information contained within this article is intended to be used by professionals, family members, and individuals with severe disabilities to inform and advocate for effective communication services and opportunities.
Assuntos
Auxiliares de Comunicação para Pessoas com Deficiência , Transtornos da Comunicação , Comunicação , Pessoas com Deficiência , Serviços de Saúde , Defesa do Paciente , Direitos do Paciente , Direitos Humanos , Humanos , Avaliação das Necessidades , Índice de Gravidade de DoençaRESUMO
This exploratory study examined the potential secondary outcome of an early augmented language intervention that incorporates speech-generating devices (SGD) on motor skill use for children with developmental delays. The data presented are from a longitudinal study by Romski and colleagues. Toddlers in the augmented language interventions were either required (Augmented Communication-Output; AC-O) or not required (Augmented Communication-Input; AC-I) to use the SGD to produce an augmented word. Three standardized assessments and five event-based coding schemes measured the participants' language abilities and motor skills. Toddlers in the AC-O intervention used more developmentally appropriate motor movements and became more accurate when using the SGD to communicate than toddlers in the AC-I intervention. AAC strategies, interventionist/parent support, motor learning opportunities, and physical feedback may all contribute to this secondary benefit of AAC interventions that use devices.
Assuntos
Auxiliares de Comunicação para Pessoas com Deficiência , Deficiências do Desenvolvimento/reabilitação , Intervenção Educacional Precoce , Destreza Motora , Pré-Escolar , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Resultado do TratamentoRESUMO
This literature review was conducted to evaluate the current state of evidence supporting communication interventions for individuals with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities. We reviewed 116 articles published between 1987 and 2007 in refereed journals meeting three criteria: (a) described a communication intervention, (b) involved one or more participants with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities, and (c) addressed one or more areas of communication performance. Many researchers failed to report treatment fidelity or to assess basic aspects of intervention effects, including generalization, maintenance, and social validity. The evidence reviewed indicates that 96% of the studies reported positive changes in some aspects of communication. These findings support the provision of communication intervention to persons with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities. Gaps in the research were reported as were recommendations for future research.
Assuntos
Transtornos da Comunicação/terapia , Deficiências do Desenvolvimento/terapia , Prática Clínica Baseada em Evidências , Deficiência Intelectual/terapia , Adolescente , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Terapia Combinada , Humanos , Lactente , Pesquisa , Adulto JovemRESUMO
The process of language acquisition requires an individual to organize the world through a system of symbols and referents. For children with severe intellectual disabilities and language delays, the ability to link a symbol to its referent may be a difficult task. In addition to the intervention strategy, issues such as the visual complexity and iconicity of a symbol arise when deciding what to select as a medium to teach language. This study explored the ability of four pre-school age children with developmental and language delays to acquire the meanings of Blissymbols and lexigrams using an observational experiential language intervention. In production, all four of the participants demonstrated symbol-referent relationships, while in comprehension, three of the four participants demonstrated at least emerging symbol-referent relationships. Although the number of symbols learned across participants varied, there were no differences between the learning of arbitrary and comparatively iconic symbols. The participants' comprehension skills appeared to influence their performance.
Assuntos
Deficiências do Desenvolvimento/psicologia , Transtornos do Desenvolvimento da Linguagem/psicologia , Desenvolvimento da Linguagem , Reconhecimento Visual de Modelos , Pré-Escolar , Compreensão , Gráficos por Computador , Instrução por Computador , Avaliação Educacional , Generalização Psicológica , Humanos , Aprendizagem , Masculino , Prática PsicológicaRESUMO
Interactions between youth with cognitive disabilities and unfamiliar adult partners were observed during a "standard partner" condition to discern the effects of the use of an augmentative and alternative communication system on communication patterns. Thirteen individuals who used the System for Augmenting Language (SAL) were compared to individuals who do not speak and who do not have SAL experience and individuals who speak. In general, the SAL users fell in the middle of the range, communicating better than the symbol-naive nonspeakers, yet not quite as well as the natural speakers with cognitive disabilities. These findings highlight the distinct contributions symbol experience makes to communication interactions with unfamiliar partners.