Betty Yu

Considerations for the Provision of Services to Bilingual Children Who Use Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Abstract Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) service providers are increasingly serving a significant number of clients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. In this paper, we discuss general considerations and future research needs relevant to the use of AAC strategies and techniques with bilingual children, specifically, issues related to the scaffolding of communication and language development in more than one language, and the selection and customization of AAC systems for bilingual children. We do so by first reviewing key research on bilingualism with children with communication disabilities and its implications for research and practice in the AAC field. We propose the use of a sociocultural approach to AAC service delivery and argue for the support of both languages needed by the child to fully participate in his or her communicative environments. Implications of the sociocultural perspective and future research needs are also presented.

Supporting the Development of Narrative Skills of an Eight-Year Old Child Who Uses an Augmentative and Alternative Communication Device.

Narrative abilities have been linked to literacy, communicative competence and development of identity. Children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) may be at risk for difficulties in the development of narrative skills due to differences in their language learning opportunities and limitations of their AAC systems. The structural dimensions of the narrative discourse produced by children who use AAC have been observed to be poorly organized, limited in coherence and severely impoverished in both vocabulary and grammar. In addition, the children usually rely heavily on narrative co-construction and may not be given sufficient opportunities by their communication partners to provide narrative features. This study describes the process used to support the development of autonomous narrative skills of an eight-year old child who uses a voice output communication aid (VOCA) to communicate and who demonstrates significant delays in narrative formation. Results indicate that narratives produced with her VOCA improved in both linguistic and story complexity following intervention that targeted understanding and use of story structures.

Effectiveness of multifaceted narrative intervention on the stories told by a 12-year-old girl who uses AAC

Children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) have been found to experience difficulties in the elicited generation of both personal and fictional narratives. The purpose of this single case study was to evaluate the effects of a multifaceted intervention program designed to support the development of autonomous narrative skills in children who used AAC. The relationship between exposure to the intervention program and increases in the narrative skills of the focus child was investigated using a single case, multiple probe baseline design. Results indicate that the narratives of the focus child improved in both linguistic and story complexity following intervention. Implications of these findings are discussed in light of the specific needs of this population of users of AAC.

Bilingualism as Conceptualized and Bilingualism as Lived: A Critical Examination of the Monolingual Socialization of a Child with Autism in a Bilingual Family

This is an ethnographic and discourse analytic case study of a bilingual, minority-language family of a six-year-old child with autism whose family members were committed to speaking English with him. Drawing on family language policy, the study examines the tensions between the family members’ stated beliefs, management efforts, and their actual practices around language use with their child. The findings show that many assumptions held by family members about language use and bilingualism were inconsistent with their everyday language practices. A practice and discourse-analytic approach to bilingualism offers a theoretical and methodological lens through which to investigate these discrepancies and to recast the interactional achievements between the child and his parents as situated bilingual practices.

Embedding Intervention Strategies within Everyday Family Routines

Legislative mandates and professional consensus support the use of daily routines and activities as contexts for embedding social communicative interventions for young children with autism. This chapter outlines research-based and systematic procedures for therapists to collaborate with families to address social communication goals for children with autism in naturally occurring and preferred routines and activities. We will describe information-gathering strategies that are family-centered and culturally responsive. We will also share tools for collaborative planning to assist families in identifying and prioritizing goals. Evidence-based consultative strategies will be shared which facilitate parents’ implementation of naturalistic intervention strategies with their young children with autism.