LCPS AT

Updated for 2016!

Use this web-based tool to see all the different ways the word you are teaching is actually being used by speakers. For instance, how is the word "put" actually used? Try it by "putting" it into the search in this site.

"BeeLine Reader makes reading faster and easier by using a color gradient that guides your eyes from the end of one line to the beginning of the next. With BeeLine Reader, you can finish your work faster-and with less eyestrain."

There is a rapidly growing body of research that demonstrates the positive effects of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) intervention on the communication of children and adults with complex communication needs. Despite the positive impact of many AAC interventions, however, many individuals with complex communication needs continue to experience serious challenges participating in educational, vocational, healthcare, and community environments. In this paper, we apply the framework proposed by the International Classifi cation of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to illustrate the need to re-think AAC intervention to improve outcomes for individuals with complex communication needs, and to foster a new generation of intervention research that will provide a solid foundation for improved services. Specifi cally, the paper emphasizes the need to take a more holistic view of communication intervention and highlights the following key principles to guide AAC intervention and research: (a) build on the individual ' s strengths and focus on the integration of skills to maximize communication, (b) focus on the individual ' s participation in real-world contexts, (c) address psychosocial factors as well as skills, and (d) attend to extrinsic environmental factors as well as intrinsic factors related to the individual who requires AAC.

Children and adults with developmental delays have benefited from the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems to develop language skills necessary for more generative and functional communication. Beginning communicators however, have historically been considered too young or too pre-linguistic and therefore have not been introduced to AAC systems until behaviors, thought to be prerequisites, have been noted. Recent research and theories about early communication development have challenged this traditional practice and broadened the scope of what is considered to be AAC. Practitioners and parents unfamiliar with early AAC options may not recognize possible applications of communication strategies used with typically developing children and older persons with developmental disabilities. AAC is applicable at all ages for learning communication roles and behaviors as well as for functional communication for persons who do not yet demonstrate clear referential symbol use. This article addresses nine questions that are frequently asked about early introduction of AAC systems to children under 3 years of age. Rationales and strategies are provided that can assist early interventionists and parents in considering AAC options for children at risk for being unintelligible or non-speaking.

Links to research which supports the idea that AAC does not (and may even enhance) verbal speech development