Making topic expansion a priority in the IEP
Topic expansion is an important area to include in the IEP. Goals for expanding vocabulary are often found in IEPs,; however, in my experience, these are not usually tied to topics but to norms or cur...
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Collection "Let's Give 'Em Something to Talk About!"
Date Created: 5/16/2016
Posts: 4
Ideas for Expanding Topics for Interaction and Communication
I have worked for 30 years as a speech language pathologist with children who have social communication challenges. During this time, I have developed special passions and skills in working with children who have autism, as well as those who have visual and multiple impairments including deafblindness. My interest in these nonconventional communicators began at Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, where I started as a houseparent working with a fascinating and challenging group of children with deafblindness born during the 1960s Rubella epidemic. There, we utilized programming developed by VanDijk to actually teach kids how to be symbolic and intentional communicators. Later, when I received more training as a teacher and an SLP, I was introduced to the Communication Matrix , developed by Charity Rowland, and found it to be a valuable tool for objectively and systematically looking at presymbolic and early symbolic communication. The instrument was so helpful because it showed progress over time in kids whose growth would not register on conventional standardized tests. I was fortunate to be supported by TSBVI to develop two curriculum guides, one focused on deafblind and early symbolic communicators (Communication: A Guide for Teachers of Students With Visual and Multiple Impairments, 1997), and later a guide developed for a broader range of children who have dual diagnosis of visual impairment and autism (Better Together: Building Relationships with People who Have Visual Impairment and Autism –or Atypical Social Development, 2008). I have worked in many different settings, including public schools, hospitals and private clinics, and have found that my foundation in relationship-based programming with the special group of deafblind children has given me a valuable perspective in teaching so many others—the ever-expanding population of children with autism, those with brain-based visual impairments, children with multiple disabilities, and even children with more “conventional” learning disabilities. I currently enjoy sharing what I have learned from these interesting kids with others—through workshop presentations, direct therapy experiences, and teaching an online course through Perkins School for the Blind. I will build my Collection on the excellent previous collection on the PLAI program by Jennifer Hayes, focusing on strategies to help us build conversations with kids who have emerging communication skills. Most of the insights shared here will be those which have emerged from my direct interactions with the children I have taught.
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Adding partners to the conversation
In previous items in this collection, I described the importance of expanding topics for students with complex communication needs, and also strategies for assessing topics and introducing them. In t...
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Using and Expanding on Existing Topics
In the previous post, I discussed the importance of expanding topics for communication. In this session, I will begin to discuss strategies for addressing topic-expansion goals and objectives. Step ...
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Introduction- The Importance of Topics for Students with Complex Communication Needs
Walking down the hall in the middle school between classes, I hear snippets of conversation between kids: “Let me tell you about how I broke my arm.” “Mr. James gave me another day on my project—he’s...
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Statement A
My child doesn't seem to have real control over his body yet.
The only way I know that he wants something is because he fusses or whines when he's unhappy or uncomfortable, and he smiles, makes noises or calms down when he's happy and comfortable. Does this statement describe your child?
Statement B
My child has control over her own behaviors, but she doesn't use them to try to communicate to me.
She doesn't come to me to let me know what she wants, but it's easy for me to figure out, because she tries to do things for herself. She knows what she wants, and her behavior shows me what she wants. If she runs out of something to eat, she will just try to get more, rather than trying to get me to give her more.
Does this statement describe your child?
Statement C
My child clearly tries to communicate his needs to me through gestures, sounds or language.
He knows how to get me to do something for him. He uses some of the kinds of behaviors below to communicate:
- Gestures such as pointing, shaking his head, tugging at my arm or looking back and forth between me and what he wants
- Sounds such as squealing to show you he wants something or fussing when he doesn't want something
- Language or symbolic forms of communication such as speech, written words, Braille, picture symbols, 3-dimensional symbols or sign language
Does this statement describe your child?
How to score your child
Each question you will see is related to a certain message that your child might be able to express using a variety of behaviors. Read the question and decide whether your child is able to express the message described using any of the listed behaviors. If the answer is YES, then you must also decide whether your child has mastered the use of each behavior or whether it is still at an emerging stage. Check either the mastered or emerging box next to any behaviors your child uses to express the message. Use the following definitions to decide whether a behavior is mastered or emerging
Mastered
– Does this independently most of the time when the opportunity arises
– Does this in a number of di erent contexts, and with di erent people
Emerging
– Does this inconsistently
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Only does this when prompted or encouraged to do so. Only does this in one or two contexts or with one person.
Tips on Communication Devices
Each question you will see is related to a certain message that your child might be able to express using a variety of behaviors. Read the question and decide whether your child is able to express the message described using any of the listed behaviors. If the answer is YES, then you must also decide whether your child has mastered the use of each behavior or whether it is still at an emerging stage. Check either the mastered or emerging box next to any behaviors your child uses to express the message. Use the following definitions to decide whether a behavior is mastered or emerging
