David A. Koppenhaver

Childhood reading and writing experiences of literate adults with severe speech and motor impairments

A retrospective survey was conducted to determine some of the childhood reading and writing experiences and shared personal characteristics of a group of 22 literate adults with congenital severe speech and physical impairments. Professionals in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) conducted face-to-face interviews using a standard protocol. Descriptive data relative to the nature of the individuals and the home and school contexts of literacy learning are reported. Results indicate that these individuals grew up in home and school environments with abundant reading and writing materials and were immersed in varied and regular experiences with print materials. Implications of the findings with respect to the literature on literacy learning of able-bodied individuals are discussed, and directions for future research suggested.

Natural Emergent Literacy Supports for Preschoolers with Autism and Severe Communication Impairments

Print materials, experiences, and writing technologies were introduced into a preschool classroom for children with autism spectrum disorders, including three 3-year-olds with severe communication impairments. The goal was to increase natural literacy learning opportunities and to explore the effects on childrens emergent literacy behaviors and understandings. Findings suggest that the children found the materials and experiences interesting and that their understanding and use of print materials and tools increased in sophistication.

Integrated Communication and Literacy Instruction for a Child with Multiple Disabilities

This longitudinal case study examined the communication and literacy learning progress of an 11-year-old boy with severe speech and physical impairments related to cerebral palsy. Theoretically driven literacy assessments revealed unforeseen literacy capabilities. Integrated use of voice-output augmentative communication technology led to improved communication skills as well as increased demonstrations of literacy capability. Systematic instruction addressing the childs weaknesses and strengths resulted in literacy gains across 2 school years.

Storybook-based communication intervention for girls with Rett syndrome and their mothers

Purpose : Storybook reading provides a natural language learning context in which to support early symbolic communication. In this study, we explored the impact of (1) resting hand splints, (2) light tech augmentative communication systems such as voice-output devices and symbols, and (3) very basic parent training on the symbolic communication and labelling behaviours of six girls with Rett syndrome. Method : Mothers and daughters were videotaped as they read familiar and unfamiliar storybooks in their homes. Results : Group and individual data collected from the six girls indicated that they became more active and successful participants in the interactions during storybook reading. The girls employed a wider range of communication modes and increased the frequency of their labelling. Familiar storybook reading encouraged greater symbolic communication than unfamiliar storybooks in half the girls. Conclusion : This study suggests that motivated parents may not require expensive technologies or lengthy training in order to enhance their childrens early communication and participation in storybook reading.PURPOSE Storybook reading provides a natural language learning context in which to support early symbolic communication. In this study, we explored the impact of (1) resting hand splints, (2) light tech augmentative communication systems such as voice-output devices and symbols, and (3) very basic parent training on the symbolic communication and labelling behaviours of six girls with Rett syndrome. METHOD Mothers and daughters were videotaped as they read familiar and unfamiliar storybooks in their homes. RESULTS Group and individual data collected from the six girls indicated that they became more active and successful participants in the interactions during storybook reading. The girls employed a wider range of communication modes and increased the frequency of their labelling. Familiar storybook reading encouraged greater symbolic communication than unfamiliar storybooks in half the girls. CONCLUSION This study suggests that motivated parents may not require expensive technologies or lengthy training in order to enhance their childrens early communication and participation in storybook reading.

Supporting Communication of Girls with Rett Syndrome and their Mothers in Storybook Reading

In this study mother-child storybook reading was explored as a context within which to support early symbolic communication of girls with Rett syndrome. Baseline measures of mother-daughter interaction were gathered as mothers read familiar and unfamiliar storybooks with their daughters. Then three experimental interventions were studied in the homes of four girls: (a) resting hand splints, (b) light tech augmentative communication systems such as voice-output devices and symbols, and (c) very basic parent training. Access to devices, symbols, and training increased the frequency of each of the four girls, labeling and symbolic communication during storybook reading. Parent training was particularly useful in increasing the percentage of appropriate switch use by three of the four girls. The study suggests that parents can provide substantial support to early communication development in girls with Rett syndrome, if they are provided with basic information and materials.

Literacy in AAC: What should be written on the envelope we push?

This paper is the text of the Don Johnston, Inc. Distinguished Lecture that was presented by the author at the Biennial ISAAC Conference in Dublin, Ireland in August 1998. In the lecture, the author makes the case that literacy is integral to the augmentative and alternative communication endeavor for people with severe speech and physical impairments, rather than a separate entity or an “add on.” He emphasizes that emergent literacy is necessary but not sufficient for intervention and that intervention research and program development must seek to achieve and measure conventional literacy outcomes.

What happens to reading between first and third grade? Implications for students who use AAC

School-age students who use AAC need access to communication, reading, and writing tools that can support them to actively engage in literacy learning. They also require access to core literacy learning opportunities across grade levels that foster development of conventional literacy skills. The importance of the acquisition of conventional literacy skills for students who use AAC cannot be overemphasized. And yet, one of the critical challenges in supporting the literacy learning of students who use AAC has been a lack of knowledge about literacy curricula and supports to literacy learning for these students. Most students who use AAC do not become conventionally literate and few of those who do achieve literacy skills beyond the second grade level. This article will provide an overview of the most frequent reading instructional activities in first and third grade classrooms. To better understand the foundational experiences important to literacy learning, the results of a survey project that examined the reading activities of general education students and teachers during primary grade instruction are presented, and critical shifts in instruction that occurred between first and third grade are highlighted. The primary instructional focus of core reading activities is also examined, along with adaptations for students who use AAC.

A Conceptual Review of Writing Research in Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Studies addressing the cognitive processes of writing (i.e., planning, translating, reviewing, monitoring) as applied to individuals with complex communication needs were reviewed. Studies meeting inclusion criteria were identified through searching multiple electronic databases and summarized according to participants, cognitive process(es) addressed, tasks and measures, and principal findings. Twenty-five studies were identified in peer-reviewed journals, 12 of them descriptive studies of spelling abilities in augmentative communication, five addressing spelling intervention, and eight addressing other writing processes. Implications for intervention and future research are discussed.

Assessing Decoding from an Onset-Rime Perspective.

This study investigated decoding assessment from an onset-rime perspective, and consistent with an interactive model of cognitive constructs underlying silent reading comprehension. Participants were 128 first and second graders in a public elementary school. Two kinds of decoding items were examined: one-syllable words and nonwords, each comprised of a high- to moderate-utility onset and a high-utility rime. Data were analyzed mainly with stepwise multiple regression and conditional probability analyses. The principal finding was that the construct validity of decoding items varied, depending on whether they were words or nonwords. Tests of knowledge of onsets and rimes accounted for 14% more variance in real-word test than nonword test scores. The superior construct validity of words over nonwords as decoding items seemed to occur because decoding nonwords requires an additional ability that decoding real words does not.

Developing Augmentative and Alternative Communication Technology in Order to Develop Literacy

David A. Koppenhaver is director of the Carolina Literacy Center for Persons with Developmental Disabilities. He is currently investigating the roles of augmentative communication and other assistive technologies in the literacy learning of children with developmental disabilities. Jane D. Steelman is associate director of technology at the Carolina Literacy Center. She is an instructional technologist who has taught in grades 1 through 12 and is currently developing literacy software for students with developmental disabilities. Patsy L. Pierce is associate director of education at the Carolina Literacy Center. She is a speech-language pathologist and special educator currently studying emergent literacy strategies and development in children with developmental disabilities. David E. Yoder is professor of speech and hearing sciences and chair of the Department of Medical Allied Health Professions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is interested in the role of augmentative and alternative communication in the acquisition of reading and writing. Amy Staples is a research associate at the Carolina Literacy Center who is currently coordinating a threeyear study of the role of technology in literacy learning of children with developmental disabilities. She is completing a doctorate in educational psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. David A. Koppenhaver, PhD Jane D. Steelman, EdD Patsy L. Pierce, PhD David E. Yoder, PhD Amy Staples, MEd