AAC Interventions

Words: 2119
Pages: 9
Open Document
According to the American Psychiatric Association, autism is defined as: “difficulties in social interactions and communication, as well as perseverative and ritualistic behaviors” (Gillham). A misperception that some people may have when dealing with a learning disability is that each disease is closely related to another. This may be true in some cases, but: “Traditional diagnostic systems have relied heavily on categorical approaches to defining autism. For example, the definition of “social dysfunction” has included various dichotomous criteria (e.g., the presence or absence of a “qualitative impairment in social interaction”))” (Gillham). There are many ways that people can connect with or communicate with people who are verbally disabled. …show more content…
There have been many different methods of AAC that have been discovered and tested to see if they are effective on individuals with autism but also other intellectual disabilities. There were six studies done involving twenty-seven participants which were closely monitored while taking part in different AAC interventions (Schlosser). “None of the 27 participants demonstrated decreases in speech production, and 89% showed gains in speech production” (Schlosser). Facilitated communication has been presented to society as a form of augmentative and alternative communication, but many people would disagree with this statement. In the academic journal titled, Facilitated Communication Denies People With Disabilities Their Voice, AAC and FC are contrasted to show the ways how facilitated communication should not be classified as augmentative and alternative communication. One of the major differences that causes controversy is that FC requires the dependence of others, while AAC is independent from others and is a type of functional communication on its own (Travers). Facilitated has even been described as “unwitting ventriloquism” because the individuals are being …show more content…
Sundberg, writes about the advantages and disadvantages of facilitated communication and how it is compared to pointing systems. He states: “Facilitation may be effective in generating verbal behaviors in previously non-vocal individuals for a number of reasons. First, facilitation allows a trainer to easily get an individual to emit a response… The facilitation may also allow for the easier emission of previously strengthened responses including mands, tacts, intraverbals, and autoclintics (Sundberg). On the other hand, Sundberg also states some common disadvantages about facilitated communication, mostly consisting of problems with the response time and response form. One of the disadvantages that can come from facilitated communication, according to Sundberg, are: “The response form is dependent on two types of environmental support: access to a keyboard and physical prompts from a trained facilitator (Sundberg). These certain supports could be disadvantages for people who do not have the money to provide these services for themselves or their loved ones. Another disadvantage that is proposed by Sundberg is: “There is an extremely slow response time compared to speech and sign, and the controlling variables and listener’s attention can be easily lost
Show More

Related Documents: AAC Interventions

The Ever-Present Silence In Schuyler's Monster

Philosophy The timeline in which the story occurs is an eye opener for therapists in regard to the effort required to provide a child with an appropriate AAC device. The Rummel-Hudson family relocated three times after Schuyler’s birth. While one move was unrelated to Schuyler’s communication needs, the commitment to find her the best intervention services possible required the family relocate on more than one occasion. Affairs were had due to frustration and lack of desire to discuss the ever-present…

Words 597 - Pages 3

Essentials Of Communication Disorders: Challenges In Communication

artistic expressions and mundane and informal tales (Ochs & Capps, 2001). Children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) have been found to have difficulties in developing narrative skills. As studied by Soto & Hartmann (2006) the difficulties range from lack of coherence and poor organization of narratives. Besides illogical organization, children with AAC were found to have poor vocabulary application and sentence structures. Soto & Hartmann identified deficiencies in use of linguistic…

Words 1118 - Pages 5

Essay on Business And Organizations

Business and Organizations Linda J. Page and Eva Dreikurs Ferguson, Column Editors In the working environment, relations among people can be far more complex than in other spheres of human life. The focus of this column is to show how the ideas and methods of Individual Psychology are useful in the workplace as well as to compare Adierian methods with other approaches. Individual dynamics as well as organizational and group dynamics issues will be discussed in detail. Potential contributors are…

Words 5745 - Pages 23

Essay on Live Streaming

Live streaming media is the transmission over the Internet of video of an event as it happens. Streaming is a form of online video in which the site sends video footage to a user’s machine “on the fly” rather than as a complete file. It’s akin to the difference between watching a TV show as it airs and watching a DVD. Live streaming media is different than on-demand streaming. With the latter, the content has previously been recorded. The user then accesses it at a time of their choice, though it…

Words 5702 - Pages 23