Importance of Functional Communication

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Importance of Functional Communication AUTS 504 Sierra Nevada College

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Importance of Functional Communication. AUTS 504 Sierra Nevada College. Functional Communication. Functional communication involves behavior (defined in form by the community) directed to another person who in turn provides related direct or social rewards. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Transcript of Importance of Functional Communication

Page 1: Importance of Functional Communication

Importance of Functional Communication

AUTS 504Sierra Nevada College

Page 2: Importance of Functional Communication

Functional Communication

• Functional communication involves behavior (defined in form by the community) directed to another person who in turn provides related direct or social rewards.

Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in      autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.

Page 3: Importance of Functional Communication

Communication

• There are two basic purposes for communicating– Requesting– Commenting

Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in      autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.

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Communication

• Requesting– Behavior directed to

another person, who then provides some reinforcing outcome to the person doing the communicating.

• Commenting– A request for

acknowledgement (i.e., attention, social response) about something the communicator is seeing.

Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in      autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.

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Communication Skills• The function of the communicative act• Teaching for generalization• Potentially effective modalities• Addressing the most basic critical

communicative receptive and expressive functions

• “Talking” about emotions• Interacting with others in a socially

acceptable wayBondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in      autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.

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The Function of the Communicative Act

• When teaching a communicative act– Identify the function– Expressive

• Initiate to receive a specific outcome• Child says “popcorn” when they want popcorn

– Receptive• Following a direction to receive a specific

outcome• Adult directs imitation. Say “popcorn”

Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in      autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.

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Teaching for Generalization

• Just because a child can imitate or speak with a prompt does not mean they will be able to use the word spontaneously– Imitation and response need to be planned

carefully for generalization across settings– Typically developing children do this

naturally

Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in      autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.

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Potentially Effective Modalities

• Imagine you have lost your voice, how would you communicate?– Sign– Pictures– Visual Symbols– Written Words

• Modalities can work alone or together

Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in      autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.

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Addressing Critical Expressive Skills

• Asking for powerful reinforcers• Asking for help• Asking for a break• Answering “yes” or “no” to “Do you want

___?• If a child can’t effectively communicate

to get their needs met they will try other ways– Biting, kicking, self-injurious behavior

Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in      autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.

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Addressing Critical Receptive Skills

• Functional instruction/direction following auditory and visual cues/prompts

• Transitioning from one activity to another• Waiting patiently• Schedule following• If a child can’t effectively understand a

communicative intent the results could– Pose harm to the recipient of the

communicationBondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in      autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.

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“Talking” about Emotions

• Children can be taught about emotions by labeling them as they happen– Frank falls down and mom says, “Ouch! I bet your

knee hurts.”– Frank’s mom is tickling him while he laughs she

says, “You are laughing, you are a happy boy!”• Children should be taught to comment about

emotions once they can comment about things around them

Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in      autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.

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Interacting with Others in a Socially Acceptable Way

• Conversational or Play interactions require children to be able to – Understanding how to respond to or initiate

with others– Turn-taking once initial communication has

been made– How to politely end conversation or play

Bondy, A. S., & Sulzer-Azaroff, B. (2002). The pyramid approach to education in      autism. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Products.

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Teaching Communication

• Three main interventions– Functional communication training to

replace challenging behaviors– Increases in initiation of verbal and

nonverbal communication– Increases in the core communication skills

National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism (C. Lord & J.      P. McGee, Eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

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Functional Communication

• Behaviors are a function of communication– Empirical evidence for teaching communication to

replace challenging behaviors• AAC messages congruent with the

function of the behavior– Look at me – Attention– I want____ – Tangible– I need a break - Escape

National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism (C. Lord & J.      P. McGee, Eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

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Increasing Initiations

• Initiation is a pivotal behavior• The more a child initiates the more it will

trigger responses from others– Enhancing other communication and

language skills• Children who self-initiate communication

have more positive treatment outcomes

National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism (C. Lord & J.      P. McGee, Eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

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Augmentative and Alternative Communication• “an area of clinical practice that attempts to

compensate (either temporarily or permanently) for the impairment and disability patterns of individuals with severe expressive communication disorders” (American Speech-Language-Hearing Associatiton, 1989:7).

National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism (C. Lord & J.      P. McGee, Eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

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AAC

• May be used to support existing speech or development of a nonverbal system– Sign language– Visual symbols– Voice output devices (VOCA)– Visual icons or words

National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism (C. Lord & J.      P. McGee, Eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

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AAC

1. There is no evidence that use of AAC systems as collaterals to language instruction results in delays in the acquisition of speech, though specifying the advantages and disadvantages of using AAC in support of the development of speech in different populations remains a research question. (p. 58)

National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism (C. Lord & J.      P. McGee, Eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

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AAC

2. There is evidence that sign language enhances the use of speech for some children.

3. There is no evidence to suggest that sign language interferes with the development of speech

National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism (C. Lord & J.      P. McGee, Eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

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AAC

4. Children with good verbal imitation skills demonstrate better speech production than those with poor verbal imitation skills, with or without AAC.

5. Children with poor verbal imitation skills are the best candidates for an AAC system, such as sign language, because they are likely to make poor progress in speech acquisition without AAC.

National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism (C. Lord & J.      P. McGee, Eds.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

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What is AAC

• Interventions designed to make up for expressive communication deficits

• Augmentative– The interventions can be used to improve upon

the effectiveness of communication through existing means – including speech

• Alternative– System that can temporarily or permanently

replace speech

Bondy, A., & Frost, L. (2001). A picture's worth: PECS and other visual      communication strategies in autism. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.

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AAC

• Modalities to augment/replace speech– Residual speech– Vocalizations– Pictures or related visual symbols

• Photographs, line drawings– Braille– Gestures

• American Sign Language• Informal

– Switch-activated devices

Bondy, A., & Frost, L. (2001). A picture's worth: PECS and other visual      communication strategies in autism. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.

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Two Main AAC

• Unaided– Do not require equipment to produce

• Gestures• Body Language• Vocalizations• Manual signs

Bondy, A., & Frost, L. (2001). A picture's worth: PECS and other visual      communication strategies in autism. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.

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Two Main AAC

• Aided– Requires devices that are external

• Communication books• Voice output communication devices

(VOCAS)• Computers

Bondy, A., & Frost, L. (2001). A picture's worth: PECS and other visual      communication strategies in autism. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.

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AAC Techniques

• Low Tech– Non-electronic

• Communication books• Communication boards• Communication wallets• Fanny backs• Date-books• Notepads• Post-it notes

Bondy, A., & Frost, L. (2001). A picture's worth: PECS and other visual      communication strategies in autism. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.

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AAC Techniques

• High Tech– Electronic – requires external power

source• BIGmack• AlphaTalker• Digivox• Speaking Dynamically• Computer• PDA• iPad, iPod touch, iPhoneBondy, A., & Frost, L. (2001). A picture's worth: PECS and other visual

     communication strategies in autism. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.