Augmentative and Alternative Communication Intervention

Augmentative and Alternative Communication Intervention: An Intensive, Immersive, Socially Based Delivery Model is ideal for school based speech-language pathologists, and an excellent resource for interventionists (special education teachers, ABA therapists) and speech-language pathologists in other settings, that wish to develop an intensive, immersive Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) based intervention through the three phases of the intervention process: assessment, intervention planning, and intervention implementation.

Written by an SLP who has worked in a public school setting and saw to the application of theory to practice, the text provides detailed information regarding working with children who have complex communication needs, and the background knowledge necessary for successful implementation of the intervention approach. Included are considerations for vocabulary selection for the beginning communicator, how to create a symbolically rich environment, detailed intervention approaches, and progress monitoring strategies that establish appropriate, measurable goals. AAC will no longer be an alternative means of communication, but a best practice means of teaching communication in the SPL or interventionist repertoire.

Making the leap from the theoretical to the practical, this essential book:

• Describes the intervention needs of children with complex communication needs and the limitations of current approaches (e.g., PECS, Milieu Training, Functional Communication Training).
• Operationally defines the goal of AAC intervention, discussing its complexities including the limitations of a pull-out model.
• Introduces the Intensive, Immersive, Socially Based Approach to Intervention, and briefly describes each phase of the process.
• Discusses how AAC assessments differ from traditional assessments of speech and language skills, as well as provides an overview of different assessment models and their contribution to the intervention process.
• Examines the importance of training support staff to key components of this intervention model.
• Contains information on the application of language based intervention strategies to AAC.
• Talks about the importance of progress monitoring, and how to use functional communication measures (FCM) and communication sampling, a new and innovative technique developed by the author, to monitor progress.
• Provides example lesson plans and example goals addressing each area of communicative competence.
• Includes a PluralPlus companion website with downloadable forms for data collection and a sample letter to send home to parents.