Autism Therapy: augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)

definition of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC): AAC is a broad term for forms of communication that supplement or enhance speech. Examples of AAC include electronic devices, picture boards, and sign language. AAC may be aided augmentative and alternative communication or unaided augmentative and alternative communication.

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Peer-Mediated Teaching and Augmentative and Alternative Communication for Preschool-Aged Children with Autism
Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, by Trembath, D., Balandin S., Togher L., and Stancliffe RJ, published in 2009, summarized Nov 24, 2009

Preschool children with autism may learn social communication skills from typically developing peers in an inclusive classroom.

Children at school may be able to teach their classmates with autism many things Children can use naturalistic teaching for social, communication, or academic skills. In this study, 6 typically developing children were taught how to use naturalistic teaching to help 3 classmates with autism learn to communicate; all the children were 3-5 years old. All 3 children with autism showed improvements in communication behaviors in the classroom and in the lunch room. Over time, only 1 of the 3 children continued to use the skills. The authors think that children as young as 3 years old can help teach their peers in inclusive classrooms.


When “Simon Says” Doesn’t Work: Alternatives to Imitation for Facilitating Early Speech Development
American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, by DeThorne, LS, Johnson CJ, Walder L., and Mahurin_Smith J., published in 2009, summarized Jul 20, 2009

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and other methods may help children with autism learn to speak.

Some children with autism do not imitate the sounds of others. For these children, several speech therapy methods may help them learn to speak. AAC is often the first strategy to help them learn enough communication to be able to have some social interactions. There are five other methods that may also help these children: 1) avoid pressuring children to speak, and use puppets and play as encouragement instead; 2) imitate the child and they may start imitating others; 3) use exaggerated sounds and speak slowly; 4) use visual feedback and touch to help teach skills; and 5) add exercises for mouth movements that are specific to speech.


Comparison of Fixed and Gradual Array when Teaching Sound-Letter Correspondence to Two Children with Autism who Use AAC
Augmentative and Alternative Communication, by Johnston, SS, Buchanan S., and Davenport L., published in 2009, summarized Jul 10, 2009

Children with autism may learn early reading skills faster when they learn to recognize one letter in comparison with others.

There are different methods for teaching reading skills to children with autism. This study compared two methods of teaching letter recognition (an early reading skill). In gradual array, a single letter was shown and the pronunciation was given with it. Then later other letters were shown that were not linked with that sound. In fixed array, the letter of interest is shown with other unrelated letters all at the same time. For example, the teacher showed "T" with other letters, and taught that "T" is associated with the "tuh" sound, but the other letters were not "tuh". The authors found that the fixed array method was a faster way of teaching letter-and-sound pairings for the two children in this study. The authors said that children who can read may be able to use a wider variety of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tools.


A Back Door Approach to Autism and AAC
Augmentative and Alternative Communication, by Mirenda, P., published in 2008, summarized Jun 15, 2009

Therapies for motor (movement) skills, language, and reading development may help children with autism learn to communicate.

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) therapies tend to focus on very basic communication skills. There is growing evidence that additional therapies may help improve the effectiveness of AAC. The author believes that motor , language , and reading are important skills in communication. The author suggests that therapists and parents to add these additional interventions to AAC therapies to help children with autism learn to communicate.


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Dragons as Behavior Rewards for Child with Autism

Aug 5, 2011

This article highlights cooperation between teachers, family members, and school peers to help a youngster with autism change some behaviors. Eli, who thrived in a special class for kids with autism, learned to speak after using picture exchange communication systems (PECS), and even began to read with the help of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). All of a sudden, he began to regress, and the rewards that family and teachers had used in the past were no longer working. First the teachers discovered that Eli’s mom had started working since he had been doing so well in school. Then they figured out that newer younger children in the classroom were getting more attention than Eli was used to. Eli loved dragons and since the Disney movie, How to Train your Dragon, had been used as a reward so often, the staff began looking for dragon toys. Using the toys as a reward began to work for Eli, at school and at home. The added benefit was that other students helped him with his behavior, because they got an extra trip to the toy box.

Read original article: Dragon Slays One Bad Habit for Child with Autism


DynaVox Helps Child with Autism Speak

Apr 21, 2011

Heather could not communicate well with her son with autism, nor could he communicate with her. Now, with DynaVox, an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device, Anthony is learning to speak spontaneously. DynaVox is a device that helps identify what it is the child wants to say, says the word, and then waits for the child to repeat the word. For example, if Anthony wants a certain colored box, he presses that color on the Dynavox. The machine says the name of the color, which Anthony then repeats.

Read original article: 5-Year-Old Speaks First Words With Help From Device


Two Moms in the Philippines Offer Tips on Good Dental Health for Children with Autism

Sep 17, 2010

Going to the dentist can be scary for any child, but two moms in the Philippines have some tips for going to the dentist with a child with autism. Tiffany Tan from Autism Society Philippines interviewed Barbara and Chyril about their boys and visits to the dentist. The moms spoke about preparing their children for the visit using social stories, visual schedules, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). They have also both found dentists willing to learn about autism and to accept their children’s behaviors. The moms both say that flossing is the most important thing to do, along with brushing. Other tips included finding a dentist who will allow your child to touch the dental tools, visiting a dental office before the procedure visit, and bring a favorite toy or book along.


iPad Provides New Opportunities for Child with Autism

Jun 21, 2010

Shannon Des Roches Rosa bought a $5 raffle ticket that resulted in a new iPad for Leo, her son with autism. Leo had tried the iPod Touch, but his motor skills make the iPad much easier for him to use. His mom says it’s sturdy and can handle Leo’s touching, swiping, and tapping. Leo has already mastered more detailed drawings. He enjoys apps such as the spelling programs, First Words, and IwriteWords. One program the entire family has used to help Leo is Stories2Learn. Shannon says, “Our entire family had a great time putting together the photos, captions, and voiceover for this social story about Leo visiting a local cafe – the process was so easy, and fast, and Leo loves the story so much I had to have his sister demo it, as Leo likes the voiceovers to repeat several times.” Shannon shares with readers other iPad applications and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) apps she’s found that help children with autism.

Read original article: The iPad: A Near-Miracle for My Son with Autism


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Please comment on this autism topic.

Misconceptions

Dec 19, 2006 by Anonymous

Speech Therapy: An example of a misconception related to speech therapy would be that some people (parents ask this often) think/question rather communication that involves signing, PECS or AAC has a negative impact on learning to speak.  Actually, other communication means actually are correlated with improvements in speech and do not negatively effect speech development.  


Misconceptions

Dec 15, 2006 by Anonymous

I had never been to this web-site and found it very user-friendly, thorough and informative.  I thought that a good addition to this site would be a 'misconceptions' section.  A misconceptions section could include misconceptions regarding different therapy options, causes of autism or perceived 'cures' of autism, just to mention a few.  I am a speech pathologist and spent some time looking through the speech therapy section in particular.  Under 'Is it harmful?', there was a sentence stating that no research has found speech therapy to be harmful. An example of a misconception related to speech therapy would be that some people (parents ask this often) think/question rather communication that involves signing, PECS or AAC has a negative impact on learning to speak.  The misconceptions section could clarify that other communication means actually are correlated with improvements in speech and do not negatively effect speech development.  


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Please comment on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) or other autism therapy topics.

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    • Synonyms for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) include: AAC, aided AAC, aided augmentative and alternative communication, alternative and augmentative communication, augmentative alternative communication, augmentative and acquired communication, augmentative and alternative communication, augmentative assistive communications device, unaided AAC, unaided augmentative and alternative communication
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