Creating Classroom Opportunities for Student Communication

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Creating Classroom Opportunities for Student
Communication

• Assistive Technology Education Network
• WinterTech 2002
• Susan R. McCloskey

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History of AAC Intervention Models

• The 70s - Candidacy Model
• Medical pathology-based
• Focus was on fixing the deficits
• Prerequisites established for AAC intervention

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History of AAC Intervention Models

• The 80s Needs-based Model
• Identification of the individuals communication
  goals
• Identification of what the individual needed in
  order to communicate

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History of AAC Intervention Models

• The 90s Participation Model
• Tied assessment to intervention
• Collaboration was key
• Support was team planned and team manned

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Measuring Success

• Although the utilization of an AAC system may
  vary as a function of cognitive level,
  communication needs, linguistic abilities, and
  the degree of training the person has received,
  success must ultimately be measured as a function
  of its use in interactive situations.
• Shane et al, 1982, Topics in Lang. Disorders (2)

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The Participation Model (Beukelman and Mirenda,
1998)

• Determine primary and secondary activities
• Determine individuals level of involvement in
  activities
• Compare participation level with that of peers
• Identify barriers to participation

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The Challenge Putting the Participation Model
into Action

• Fitting it into a school-based model
• Developing teams for assessment and intervention
• Modifying the role of the SLP and others

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A Solution Environmental Communication Teaching

• Team-based pragmatics approach
• Team includes teacher, SLP, and paraprofessional
• Training continues through the school year
• Examples and feedback based on actual classroom
  intervention plans

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Y2K - Situated Pragmatics

• Intervention involves providing contexts of
  active engagement rather than teaching of
  specific intents, such as requests, as separate
  entities
• Duchan, 1997, Topics in Lang. Disorders (2)

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Pragmatics and AAC

• Takes the focus off the equipment
• Getting it is still important
• Making it work is still important
• Puts the focus on the use of the equipment
• OSEP Round Table Discussions
• State Compliance monitoring

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Situated Pragmatics

• Goals of a situated pragmatics approach would
  focus on increasing opportunities for the
  targeted child to participate in everyday life
  activities.

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The Basics of Environmental Communication Teaching

• Arranging the environment
• Selecting communication targets
• Responding to the childs initiations
• Reinforcing the childs communicative attempts

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Communication Interaction Chart
Wants/Needs
Social Closeness
Environment
Partner
P URPOSE
Activity
Information Transfer
Social Etiquette
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must provide a solid foundation for the
interaction that occurs within it.
The Task

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Task/Activity
Environmental Cues
Increase communicative behaviors
Activity-Based
Critical vs. non-critical sequences
Objectives
Problem-solving
What to do, when
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Developing the Task/Activity

• Mapping the Day

• Activity Breakdown

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Requirements for an Activity

• How is it Initiated?
• Where does it begin?
• What is the transition from the previous
  activity?
• Who begins it?
• How is it begun?
• What is said or done?

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Requirements for an Activity

• How is it Maintained?
• What are the operations that must be carried out?
• With what must they be done?
• Who must do them?
• What must be said to carry them out?
• Who must say these things?

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Requirements for an Activity

• How is it Terminated?
• What actions end the activity?
• Who does them?
• When?
• Who ends the activity?
• What do they say?

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Development of ABOs

• Activity-Based Objectives
• Define the expectation for the students
  communicative behavior in specific activities and
  routines
• Define the partners interaction requirements
• Provide a way to communicate the above to all
  team members!

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Guidelines for Preparing Activity-Based
Objectives

• Reflect the highest level of expectation
• State what the student will do or say to complete
  the activity
• Use only verbs such as ASK, TELL, SAY, ANSWER to
  describe the communication of the student
• Include any teaching displays or mnemonic devices
  that are needed

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Teaching Arrangements
ECT Cues and Prompts Descriptive
Feedback Materials AAC Teaching Displays
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ECT Prompt Hierarchy
STEP 2 Ask an open question Pause
STEP 3a Provide a partial prompt Pause
STEP 3b Request for verbaliza-tion Pause
STEP 4 Provide a full model Pause
STEP 1 Pause Focus your attention on
the child Pause
DONT FORGET DESCRIPTIVE FEEDBACK
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1. The Pause

• If an environmental cue or a transitional cue has
  just occurred

• Focus your attention on the student and PAUSE

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2. Open Question

• If the student or young child does not respond to
  the pause by making or attempting a response...

• Ask a what, why, who, when, where, or how
  question, and then
• PAUSE

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3a. Partial Prompt

• If the student or young child does not respond to
  the open question or produces a minimal
  response...

• Provide part of the response by
• asking a question that contains a choice,
• giving a hint or a clue modeling the first few
  words (or sounds) of the answer, and then PAUSE

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3b. Request for Communication

• Request that the student or young child use
  another form or elaborate on the response, and
  then
• PAUSE

• If the student or young child responds to the
  pause or the open question with behavior that is
• inappropriate, or
• at a lower level than desired for that student

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4. Full Model

• If the student or young child has never produced
  the response you are seeking...
• If the student or young child does not respond
  to the partial prompt or mand or does so
  incorrectly...

• Provide a full model for the response, and then
  PAUSE.
• Do use the students AAC system when possible to
  provide the model for him to imitate.

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Descriptive Feedback

• Serves three functions
• Immediately acknowledges that the listener
  heard the student or young child
• Confirms that the message sent by the student or
  young child is the one understood by the listener
• Can be used to model an expansion of the message
  expressed by the student or young child

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Environmental Arrangement Strategies

• Common strategies
• interesting materials and activities
• materials in view, but out of reach
• materials used with which the child will need
  assistance
• materials that need to be gathered
• small or inadequate amounts /portions provided
• sabotage
• something the child doesnt like is provided
• novel elements

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AAC Displays for Teaching

• Visual Strategies
• Classroom schedules
• Individual schedules
• Task sequence displays
• Assistance displays

--Morning meeting --Spelling --Computer --Phys
Ed --Lunch
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Vocabulary and Messages
Relation to Task Message Form Age
Appropriateness Symbol Representation
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AAC Display
Physical Arrangement Physical Support Relation to
Task Transportability
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Message Selection Strategy
Mode of Selection Augmentation of Mode Relation
to Task Rate Enhancement
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Professional Development Opportunities via ECT

• Year long training program
• Multiple days throughout the year
• Team participation
• Teacher, Para, Speech Pathologist
• Videotaping assignments
• Learning from YOUR students
• Feedback for continuous learning
• Written and group feedback

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Winter Tech 2002

• Susan R. McCloskey-Dale
• smccloskey_at_att.net
• smccloskey_at_pattan.k12.pa.us
• 27 Oakglade Drive
• Hummelstown, PA 17036
• 717-566-3060

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Review of ECT

• A research effort
• to increase initiated child communication
• to determine staff training methods/materials
• Part of systems change
• team intervention
• A process effective adult learning
• A mind-set communication focus in everyday
  activities

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Selecting Target Students

• Students or young children should meet one of the
  following criteria
• Already has minimal competence in the operation
  of an AAC approach
• Has had access to an AAC approach to respond, but
  not initiate
• An initial AAC approach has been developed
• Demonstrates some desire to communicate, or
• demonstrates strong preferences or dislikes, or
• attempts to maintain participation

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Selecting Target Activities

• Activities selected should correspond as much as
  possible with the following characteristics
• The activity is process rather than product
  oriented
• The activity represents a class of activities
• More than one selection for the activity type
  can be offered at any given time
• The activity occurs for the student or young
  child 3-4 times each week