Wordpower aac1/25/2024 In this example, it would be better to teach the core word, EAT which can be generalized to all edibles in the context of mands/requests, tacts/naming, or intraverbals/answering questions, as the learner’s language grows.ĪAC systems are providing more efficient access to core vocabulary words. That is, the learner may use I WANT + CRACKER while trying to label or tact a cracker in a photograph. This constrains the learner from using these vocabulary words in spontaneous, novel utterances (Ho, 2019). If I WANT is chained with the preferred item/edible, then the learner may only produce that fringe vocabulary item (e.g., CRACKER) in that chained phrase (e.g., I WANT + CRACKER). For instance, a learner may learn to combine or sequence buttons on a speech generating device (SGD) I + WANT in order to mand for or request preferred items or edibles. Further, some core words are frequently chained by beginning communicators with ASD including WANT and MORE. It’s best to avoid pronouns at this stage. But the challenge remains, how do we choose which core vocabulary words to target? Beginning communicators with ASD are concrete thinkers who often struggle with more abstract words such as pronouns (e.g., I, YOU, ME). When modeling on an AAC system, interventionists should model both core and fringe vocabulary.Ĭlearly, we need to model core vocabulary words to our learners with ASD. Many of our learners with ASD have intense interests that include meaningful fringe words such as TRAIN, LIGHT or BOOK. The remaining 20% of what we say is called “fringe vocabulary,” or nouns. Learners should be exposed to frequent models on their AAC system of core vocabulary words that can be used across a variety of different contexts (e.g., GO, OPEN, MORE, HELP). This is known as core vocabulary, which includes many parts of speech aside from nouns (e.g., verbs, prepositions, determiners, conjunctions). Research has demonstrated that only 400 words represent 80% of what we say (Vanderheiden & Kelso, 1987). The learner is not required to imitate a model, but simply to observe system use in natural communication contexts (Ho, 2018). We want to expose the learner to the system and demonstrate the power of communication. Clinically, the intent of providing a model is NOT specifically for the user to imitate the production. Modeling is the most frequently used instructional method by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who work with children with ASD who use AAC (Clark & Williams, 2020). This is not surprising to clinicians and educators who have seen their caseloads swell with children with ASD who require AAC. It is estimated that 50% of individuals on the Autism Spectrum can’t meet their communication needs with speech alone (Light, Roberts, DeMarco, & Greiner, 1998). We know that many individuals with ASD have complex communication needs. Modeling for Children with ASD: Which Words Should We Choose? Kimberly Ho, SLP and Director of Speech, Language and AAC Services at Confidence Connection, shares her thoughts on selecting which words to model and also shares a number of video examples. For beginning communicators, the pairing of storybook reading with aided language input is a powerful combination.
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