Download Teaching Communication Skills to Students with

Welcome to Functional Assessment: Week 7
Updates
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Preference Assessment Due today
Task Analysis on Functional Skills due
next week May 9th
Task Analysis on Communication Skills
due May 16th
Task Analysis on Academic Skills due May
23rd.
Article Review #2 due May 9th
Ecological Assessment Report due on June
6th.
“If I could not express myself, I would
become like the tree in the forest—the
one for which it does not matter if it
makes a sound when it comes crashing
down, because there is no one around
to hear it. Unfortunately, there are still
many silent fallen trees all around us if
we stop and look.”
Bob Williams, AAC user with
complex communication needs
(Williams, 2000, p. 250)
Entry Activity #1
Get together with a partner and discuss
the preference assessment you
conducted.
 You can use your communication board or
your typical communication system
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Entry Activity #2
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Communication Bill of Rights
Communication Bill of Rights
Each person has a right to:
Request desired objects, actions, events, & people
 Refuse undesired objects, etc.
 Express personal preferences & feelings.
 Be offered choices & alternatives.
 Reject offered choices & alternatives.
 Request & receive another person’s
attention/interaction
 Ask for & receive info about changes in routine &
environment.
 Receive intervention to improve communication
skills
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Communication Bill of Rights
Each person has a right to:
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Receive a response to any communication, whether
or not the responder can fill the request.
Have access to augmentative and alternative
communication and other assistive technology
services & devices at all times.
Be in environments that promote one’s
communication as a full partner with other people,
including peers.
Be spoken to with respect & courtesy.
Be spoken to directly and not spoken for or talked
about in 3rd person while present.
Have clear, meaningful, and culturally &
linguistically appropriate communication.
Entry Activity #2 Cont’d
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How you can ensure these occur for
students within your current and future
teaching situations?
Entry Activity #3
This activity is designed to be used
throughout today’s discussion.
 Based on the chapter you read and what
we are talking about today, explain how
the assessment procedures we’ve been
talking about all term apply to assessing
communication.

K-W-L about Communication skills for
students with sig. disabilities
Outcomes
• Define communication & identify who needs
communication intervention
• Identify ecological and observational
approaches to determining communication
skills and needs.
Communication is…
• “the complex process of
information transfer that
individuals use to
influence the behavior
of others.”
(Orelove & Sobsey, 1996)
Resources
• Downing, J.E. (2005)Teaching
Communication Skills to Students with
Severe Disabilities
• Snell, M.E., & Brown, F. (2011).
Instruction of Students with Severe
Disabilities
Pre-Requisites for Communication?
• Competence in a symbolic and
language system (e.g., spoken
English, manual ASL)?
• Formalized rules of word
representation, production, &
use?
• Breathing is the only real prerequisite (Mirenda, 1993)
Communication is essential to
quality of life
• Necessary to define oneself
• Share ideas, feelings
• Demonstrate knowledge & skills
• Socialize
• Perform job & daily tasks
Communication: Basic Right
When communication fails:
• Wars are fought
(communication fails
between countries)
• Divorce
(communication fails
between partners)
• Fired from jobs
(communication fails
between co-workers,
supervisors)
Communication in Daily Life
• Allows control over physical &
social environment
• Allows for acquiring new skills
(strong correlation between
literacy & communication skill
development for students with
severe disabilities; Beukelman &
Mirenda, 2005)
• Allows for socially acceptable
way to express feelings of
frustration
• Allows for development of
friendships
Least Dangerous Assumption
(Cardinal, 2002; Donnellan, 1984)
• Better to err on the side of
assuming competence
even if it is not there, rather
than err on the side of
assuming incompetence
when competence is the
case.
• All individuals need to
communicate
Who Needs Communication
Intervention?
• Students who demonstrate minimal
communication skills that they are not
adequately expressing themselves.
• Cognitive Referencing---Many professionals still
believe that for children with severe intellectual
challenges communication services are
irrelevant (Downing, 2005)—
• Question should not be whether students will
benefit from communication intervention,
but how best to provide support
Basic Conditions for Communication
(Beukelman & Mirenda, 2005)
• At least 2 people who understand
each other
• Form (i.e. a way to send the
message)
• Content (i.e., something to talk
about)
• Function: Reason/Purpose to
communicate
• Educational team members must
ensure these are addressed
Social Issues in Communication
• Students in special education classrooms
tend to have interactions with adults but
limited interaction with other students
(Foreman et al., 2004)
• What affects does this have on: learning
communication, and making friends?
• Foreman et al., found that students with
disabilities in general education were
involved in significantly higher levels of
communication interactions than their
matched pair in special education
classrooms (2004).
Two key parts of language…
• Receptive Language:
– Understanding what people
mean when they speak to
you.
• Expressive Language
– Being able to
speak/communicate so that
others understand you.
Communication Forms (Behaviors)
Multi-modal nature of
communication
• No one form of communication will
meet all needs or all social situations
• Teaching a combination of different
modes is necessary
– Examples: Vocalization, body
movements, pointing, facial
expressions, nodding, gestures, use of
object symbols, picture symbols,
manual signs
Communicative Functions/ Intent
•
•
•
•
•
•
Request
Initiate/greeting
Terminate
Attention
Naming
Accept/Reject
– Protesting situations
– Affirming situations
• Expressing choices or
preferences
Contents of Communication
• When there is nothing to
say, there is no
communication (i.e. the
awkward pause when run
out of things to say)
• Individuals with severe
disabilities need to have
access to a variety of
objects, pictures, and
photos
Communication Skills
• Speech
– Articulation,Resonance,
Voice, Fluency
• Language
– Phonology, Syntax,
Semantics, Pragmatics
• Conversation Skills
– Turn taking, content,
initiation, closure
Problems in the Classroom?
• Receptive language deficits
– Cannot recall sequences of ideas
presented orally
– Difficulty understanding humor,
sarcasm, figurative language
– May not understand questions
– Trouble following directions
– Cannot retain information presented
orally
– Difficulty understanding compound
and complex sentences
• Expressive Deficits
– Spoken language may include
incorrect grammar or syntax
– Limited use of vocabulary
– Frequent hesitations/can’t find
right words
– Difficulty discussing abstract,
temporal or spatial concepts
– Jumps from topic to topic
– Afraid to ask questions, does not
know what questions to ask, does
not no how to ask questions.
Assessing Communication Skills
• Standardized Tests will not
provide the information you
need
• Assessment driven by questions
that need to be answered to
help benefit from
communication intervention—
Team Effort
• Interviews with Significant
Others & Ecological-Functional
Assessment Process
Considering assessment options?
• Current communication
• Environmental conditions
• Motor capabilities
• Cognitive/linguistic capacities
• Language capacities
• Literacy capacities
• Sensory/perceptual capacities
Assessing Receptive
Communication Skills
• Receptive skills for a specific
activity need to be identified
• What does the student do to
demonstrate that the message
has been received and
understood?
• Document what forms of
communication seem to be
best understood
Assessing Expressive
Communication Skills
• Any attempt by the student to start,
maintain, or end a communicative
exchange should be noted.
• How the students communicates (the
form)—Skill level?
• Why the student is communicating
(function/intent)—different forms of
communication for different
purposes?
• What the student talks about
(content)—information on breadth of
skills and accessibility?
Significant Other Interview(s)
• See Communication Style
Assessment—handout
• Interview questions for
professionals---handout
Questions for professionals
• What modes is the student
using to communicate
throughout the day?
• Does the student have a
means to initiate an
interaction? How?
• Does the student have
opportunities to initiate an
interaction? When? With
whom?
More professional questions
• Do others in the environment
understand and respond
appropriately to the student?
• Does the student have a
means to engage different
functions of communication,
or does he or she primarily
make requests or protests? (List
the functions/purposes of
communication & how the
student conveys them)
More Questions to ask
• Does the student have
different things to talk
about? What are they?
• Does the student have the
means to respond to others
and maintain
conversation? How?
• Does he/she have a way
and know how to end a
conversation? How?
Last Question…
• Does the student have a
way to correct a
communication
breakdown? How?
Assessing current
communication
 Communication Matrix by Charity Rowland
http://www.communicationmatrix.org/en/
(designs to learn website)
 Organized by communication function
 List of behaviors
 Not used, emerging or mastered
Ecological-functional Assessment
Process
• Uses observational techniques
to analyze skill demands of the
natural environment and
determine how the student
performs within the
environment
• Leads directly to intervention
plan (Snell, 2002)
Communication Ecological
Inventory Worksheet
(Figure 8-10, p.249, Best, Heller, Bigge, 2005)
1. Ask: Where does the student spend time?
(environment, sub-environment, activities)
2. Select Activity: (e.g., ordering food)
3. Observe: (for vocabulary used in activity)
• List Expressive Vocabulary used in the activity
• List Receptive Vocabulary used in the activity
4. Review listed words and determine which words
& skills need to be taught to the student.
Example of Communication
Ecological Inventory
• Where does the student spend time?
– Environment: Community: McDonald’s
– Subenvironment: McDonald’s counter area
– Activities: Ordering food, waiting in line,
socializing in line
• Select activity: Ordering Food
Example Cont’d
• Observe vocabulary used in activity
– Expressive: “I want, hamburger, fish
sandwich, small, medium, large, coke,
milkshake, yes/no, that’s all, thank you, my
order is wrong, I need, extra ketchup, for
here, please repeat that, how much?”
– Receptive: “May I help you?, Is that all?, Here
or to go?, Your order will be ready soon?, I
don’t understand, Your total is_____”
• Review listed words: which are above, below, and at the
student’s level. Which are within or outside student’s
experience, which are necessary for the task
Ecological Inventory of Functional
Skills
Steps in
Activity
Natural
Cues
Comm. Skills
Needed
Student
Discrepancy Interv.
Performance Analysis
Plan
Receptive + or or
Expressive
Why
sug
student gest
isn’t
ions
doing
the step
10 minute partner activity
Think of the student you are
working with for your task analysis.
Use the examples presented and
outline how you will determine
his/her communication needs
Augmentative & Alternative
Communication is…
• “any means that helps a person
communicate when
conventional speaking, writing,
and/or understanding others are
not possible.”
(McCormic, Loeb, & Schieffelbusch, 2003)
• “any item, piece of equipment, or
product system, whether
acquired commercially off the
self, modified, or customized,
that is used to increase, maintain,
or improve the functional
capabilities of children with
disabilities.” (IDEA, 1990 ~ Federal Register)
Two types of AAC techniques
• Unaided- Do not require any
external equipment (i.e.
manual signs, facial expressions,
gestures)
• Aided- Incorporate external
devices (i.e., computers,
microswitches, or speechgenerating devices (SGDs)
• Most people use both to
communicate in different
situations with different people
Communication System
Combination of all of the
techniques used by an
individual student
Unaided Communication
• Teachers need to be
attuned to how student
communicates
• Understand what various
gestures, vocalization, and
other techniques mean
Gesture Dictionary
What John
Does
What it
means
Runs to the
door
“I want a
drink of
water”
Grabs another
student’s arm
“I like
you”
How to Respond
Let him go for a drink
of water from the water
fountain or set a timer
for when he can go
Explain the meaning to
John’s classmate &
help them work
together
When is unaided communication
appropriate?
• Used when students have
no other way to get their
messages across
• Must be Socially
acceptable & Intelligible
Manual Signs: Pros & Cons
• Some people who can hear
use manual signs (e.g. ASL)
• Advantage: requires no
equipment
• Disadvantage: Many people
do not understand signs,
therefore limited
communication partners
• What are other pros or cons?
When to teach signs
• Poor prognosis for speech
• Signing partners available
• Physically able
• Adequate cognitive skills
• A portable communication
system is desirable
Aided Communication
• Low-Tech/Non-electronic:
symbols, and
communication displays
• Hi-Tech/Electronic:
Speech-generating
devices
• Advantages/
Disadvantages of both?
Symbols for Communication
• Real Object Symbols
• Photographs & Pictures
• Line Drawing Symbols
• Textured Symbols
• Letters & Words
Selecting Symbols—What to look
for?
• Should make sense to the user &
communication partners (assess with
range of choices)
• Similarity between the symbols & what
represents should be obvious
• Students sensory modalities should be
considered
• Symbols introduced gradually building
on current communication skills
Communication Displays-examples
• Velcro board with a few picture
symbols that students point to
• Plexiglas eye gaze display that a
student uses eye to “point” (Figure
8-19, p.261)
• Communication Book or Wallet
Considerations for Designing
Displays
• Messages: which are needed,
in what contexts
• Symbols: depending on the
individual & messages
• How symbols are displayed:
booklets, notebooks,
wheelchair trays, scanners
• Organizing symbols: context
specific, how many per page,
etc.
Graphic arrays
• Designing communication
boards or communication
notebooks
–
–
–
–
–
Choosing items
Size of each item
Positioning each item
Accessibility of each item
Perception of each item (both user
and communication partner)
– Item placement/ordering- groups?
Effort in scanning?
– Motor involvement in using arrayvertical or horizontal?
Using Symbols to Promote
Participation/Conversation
• Calendar/Schedule
Systems
• Choice Displays
• Remnant (e.g. Movie
ticket, scraps from
activities) Displays
• Conversation Displays
Hi-Tech: Speech Generating
Devices
• Devices “talk” when a
student touches a symbol
on the device
• What are advantages/
disadvantages??
Types of Electronic Devices
• Single-level Devices: deliver a limited
number of messages (about 20), simple to
program & operate (e.g. BIGmack)
• Multi-level Devices: Up to thousands of
messages, more difficult to program,
multiple symbol displays to program
messages on two or more levels.
• Comprehensive Devices: “dynamic
display” technology
Supporting AAC learners is a
collaborative effort
–
–
–
–
–
Family/caregivers & friends
Present & future employers
Teachers (SPED & Gen Ed.)
Speech/language specialists
Physical & occupational
therapists
– Student
Supporting AAC Learners (continued)
• Access to AAC
– Available
– Accessible
– Appropriate
• Atmosphere of acceptance
– Nonjudgmental - OK to make
mistakes, model correct response,
praise attempts, allow more time,
minimize peer pressure, reinforce
tolerance of individual differences.
Teaching Communication Skills
• General Education Classroom
Ideal environment- numerous
opportunities to communicate
with responsive communicative
partners
• However, students need
specific & systematic instruction
to acquire desired skills
• Educational Team must
develop teaching strategies
and implement them
consistently
Things to Consider with AAC
• Mode of communication – Input: how
the student receives the message;
• Output: means in which the student
transmits the messages to others
• Mechanism for communication –
Gestures, Vocalizations, Graphic
• Type of selection - Direct selection,
Scanning, Encoding
• Physical display - Number of graphic
symbols, Spacing and arrangement,
Background, Orientation, Fixed or
dynamic
• Vocabulary selection
• Output - Print copy, Speech, Scan
display
What do we choose to teach?
Consider:
• What to communicate
about
• Activities/environments
used in
• People communicate with
Initial Instructional Strategies
• Establishing Want/No
• Response Prompt Strategies (Time
Delay, System of Least/Maximum
Prompts)
• Milieu Teaching- modeling, manding,
time delay, incidental teaching
• Environmental Arrangement &
Interrupted-chain Strategy
• Conversation skill training
Supporting AAC Learners (continued)
• AAC Training
– Training for student,
parents/family/friends, teachers,
employers, peers
– Training in the use/maintenance
of the system
– Training in
facilitative/instructional
techniques that promote
communication