Clarke, K., & Williams, D. (2018, November). Investigating daily practices of AAC modeling by SLPs who work with individuals with ASD. Poster at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Conference, Boston, MA.
Clarke & Williams (2018) Handout (pdf)
Abstract: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by lasting and persistent impairments in social language and social development (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Many of these individuals require the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Differences in visual and auditory perception and processing have been reported for individuals with ASD; however, it is unknown how SLPs are adapting their instruction with individuals using AAC to account for these differences.
In order to learn about the current practice of SLPs when providing AAC instruction to individuals with ASD, nine SLPs participated in semi-structured interviews. They were asked about their specific methods of instruction when implementing AAC to individuals with ASD, their reasons for method selection, and their perceived benefits of the selected method. It was found that the SLPs were providing multiple modes of input and instruction when working with this population. The themes from the interviews are discussed, as well as clinical implications and conclusions.
All ASHA 2018 presentations by students and faculty can be found here.
