A Lesson in Autism and AAC
By Zelko, Gail Robin; Advance for Speech-Language Pathologists & Audiologists,Publication Date: March 16, 2009
Account by a speech-language pathologist of an evaluation for an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device conducted with a profoundly autistic teenaged girl. The evaluation came at the request of the girl’s family. School-based speech-language pathologists consulted found the girl to be completely unaware of others, demonstrating no language use or reading or writing ability. The author describes how the girl showed no interest in simple AAC devices consisting of buttons with prerecorded messages. However at the insistence of her mother, who explained that she had taught her daughter to type, a highly computerized, complex AAC device was set up for the girl, who immediately typed a simple request to be taken to a promised playdate. Not only could the autistic girl type a sentence, but she demonstrated the ability to communicate about an abstract event taking place in the future. The author reports having learned from the experience that people with profound autism can have complex and abstract linguistic skills as well as a desire to communicate.
Published by: Merion Publications Inc (Website:http://www.merion.com)
Link to text: http://speech-language-pathology-audiology.advanceweb.com/editorial/content/editorial.aspx?cc=195978
