Transcript Kids and Fear

Importance of Functional
Communication
AUTS 504
Sierra Nevada College
Functional Communication
• Functional communication involves
behavior (defined in form by the
community) directed to another person
who in turn provides related direct or
social rewards.
Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in
autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.
Communication
• There are two basic purposes for
communicating
– Requesting
– Commenting
Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in
autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.
Communication
• Requesting
– Behavior directed to
another person, who
then provides some
reinforcing outcome
to the person doing
the communicating.
• Commenting
– A request for
acknowledgement
(i.e., attention, social
response) about
something the
communicator is
seeing.
Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in
autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.
Communication Skills
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The function of the communicative act
Teaching for generalization
Potentially effective modalities
Addressing the most basic critical
communicative receptive and expressive
functions
• “Talking” about emotions
• Interacting with others in a socially
acceptable way
Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in
autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.
The Function of the
Communicative Act
• When teaching a communicative act
– Identify the function
– Expressive
• Initiate to receive a specific outcome
• Child says “popcorn” when they want popcorn
– Receptive
• Following a direction to receive a specific
outcome
• Adult directs imitation. Say “popcorn”
Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in
autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.
Teaching for Generalization
• Just because a child can imitate or
speak with a prompt does not mean
they will be able to use the word
spontaneously
– Imitation and response need to be planned
carefully for generalization across settings
– Typically developing children do this
naturally
Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in
autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.
Potentially Effective Modalities
• Imagine you have lost your voice, how would
you communicate?
– Sign
– Pictures
– Visual Symbols
– Written Words
• Modalities can work alone or together
Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in
autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.
Addressing
Critical Expressive Skills
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Asking for powerful reinforcers
Asking for help
Asking for a break
Answering “yes” or “no” to “Do you want ___?
If a child can’t effectively communicate to get
their needs met they will try other ways
– Biting, kicking, self-injurious behavior
Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in
autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.
Addressing
Critical Receptive Skills
• Functional instruction/direction following
auditory and visual cues/prompts
• Transitioning from one activity to another
• Waiting patiently
• Schedule following
• If a child can’t effectively understand a
communicative intent the results could
– Pose harm to the recipient of the communication
Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in
autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.
“Talking” about Emotions
• Children can be taught about emotions by
labeling them as they happen
– Frank falls down and mom says, “Ouch! I bet your
knee hurts.”
– Frank’s mom is tickling him while he laughs she
says, “You are laughing, you are a happy boy!”
• Children should be taught to comment about
emotions once they can comment about
things around them
Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in
autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.
Interacting with Others in a
Socially Acceptable Way
• Conversational or Play interactions
require children to be able to
– Understanding how to respond to or initiate
with others
– Turn-taking once initial communication has
been made
– How to politely end conversation or play
Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in
autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.
Teaching Communication
• Three main interventions
– Functional communication training to
replace challenging behaviors
– Increases in initiation of verbal and
nonverbal communication
– Increases in the core communication skills
National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism (C. Lord & J.
P. McGee, Eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Functional Communication
• Behaviors are a function of
communication
– Empirical evidence for teaching communication to
replace challenging behaviors
• AAC messages congruent with the
function of the behavior
– Look at me – Attention
– I want____ – Tangible
– I need a break - Escape
National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism (C. Lord & J.
P. McGee, Eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Increasing Initiations
• Initiation is a pivotal behavior
• The more a child initiates the more it will
trigger responses from others
– Enhancing other communication and language
skills
• Children who self-initiate communication have
more positive treatment outcomes
National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism (C. Lord & J.
P. McGee, Eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Augmentative and
Alternative Communication
• “an area of clinical practice that attempts to
compensate (either temporarily or
permanently) for the impairment and disability
patterns of individuals with severe expressive
communication disorders” (American SpeechLanguage-Hearing Associatiton, 1989:7).
National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism (C. Lord & J.
P. McGee, Eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
AAC
• May be used to support existing speech
or development of a nonverbal system
– Sign language
– Visual symbols
– Voice output devices (VOCA)
– Visual icons or words
National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism (C. Lord & J.
P. McGee, Eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
AAC
1. There is no evidence that use of AAC
systems as collaterals to language
instruction results in delays in the
acquisition of speech, though specifying
the advantages and disadvantages of
using AAC in support of the development
of speech in different populations remains
a research question. (p. 58)
National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism (C. Lord & J.
P. McGee, Eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
AAC
2. There is evidence that sign language
enhances the use of speech for some
children.
3. There is no evidence to suggest that
sign language interferes with the
development of speech
National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism (C. Lord & J.
P. McGee, Eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
AAC
4. Children with good verbal imitation skills
demonstrate better speech production than
those with poor verbal imitation skills, with or
without AAC.
5. Children with poor verbal imitation skills are
the best candidates for an AAC system, such
as sign language, because they are likely to
make poor progress in speech acquisition
without AAC.
National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism (C. Lord & J.
P. McGee, Eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
What is AAC
• Interventions designed to make up for
expressive communication deficits
• Augmentative
– The interventions can be used to improve upon
the effectiveness of communication through
existing means – including speech
• Alternative
– System that can temporarily or permanently
replace speech
Bondy, A., & Frost, L. (2001). A picture's worth: PECS and other visual
communication strategies in autism. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.
AAC
• Modalities to augment/replace speech
– Residual speech
– Vocalizations
– Pictures or related visual symbols
• Photographs, line drawings
– Braille
– Gestures
• American Sign Language
• Informal
– Switch-activated devices
Bondy, A., & Frost, L. (2001). A picture's worth: PECS and other visual
communication strategies in autism. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.
Two Main AAC
• Unaided
– Do not require equipment to produce
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Gestures
Body Language
Vocalizations
Manual signs
Bondy, A., & Frost, L. (2001). A picture's worth: PECS and other visual
communication strategies in autism. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.
Two Main AAC
• Aided
– Requires devices that are external
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Communication books
Voice output communication devices
(VOCAS)
Computers
Bondy, A., & Frost, L. (2001). A picture's worth: PECS and other visual
communication strategies in autism. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.
AAC Techniques
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Low Tech
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Non-electronic
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Communication books
Communication boards
Communication wallets
Fanny backs
Date-books
Notepads
Post-it notes
Bondy, A., & Frost, L. (2001). A picture's worth: PECS and other visual
communication strategies in autism. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.
AAC Techniques
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High Tech
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Electronic – requires external power source
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BIGmack
AlphaTalker
Digivox
Speaking Dynamically
Computer
PDA
iPad, iPod touch, iPhone
Bondy, A., & Frost, L. (2001). A picture's worth: PECS and other visual
communication strategies in autism. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.