Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Symbol-Based
Communication
Patricia Wright, PhD, MPH
Easter Seals, Inc.
&
Lori Geist, MS, CCC-SLP
Mayer-Johnson/Widgit
Opportunities for this
Session
• Learn something new
• Reinforce previous learning
• Challenge your beliefs
Learning Objectives
• Identify strategies for teaching the use
of symbols for communication to
individuals with autism.
50,000
Number of Children
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
91-92 92-93 93-94 94-95 95-96 96-97 97-98 98-99
(n=27) (n=49) (n=51) (n=52) (n=52) (N=52) (n=52) (n=52)
School Years
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs,
Data Analysis System (DANS)
About
Symbols
• Real objects
• Environmental signage
• Actual Objects
• Photographs
• Line Drawings
• Traditional Orthography
• Behavior is communication.
Symbols and
Challenging Behavior
• Providing AAC supports to meet
communication needs, which works
towards extinguishing inappropriate
behaviors, is an appropriate focus
for speech and language
intervention
» (Bopp, Brown, & Mirenda, 2004).
Symbols and
Challenging Behavior
• Natural aided language promotes
instructional understanding
» Cafiero (2001)
• Natural aided language video
Replication of Choice
Board
(Cafiero, 2001)
Symbols and
Challenging Behavior
(Cafiero, 2001)
Symbols and
Challenging Behavior
• Preschool students used symbol-based
communication to request preferred
activities within the typical classroom
routine