Last month the top 10 mistakes and lessons learned from therapy programs for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) were examined in this column.
Now here’s number 11: Parents (or teachers) refusing to try augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) for non-verbal or minimally verbal children or adults with autism.
People with autism often have delays or deficits in communication, especially speech. However, many children and adults with autism have considerably better receptive than expressive skills. That means that they understand a lot more than it appears.
AAC systems can take the place of, or supplement and enhance speech by enabling people who don’t have typical verbal abilities communicate better. AAC systems can improve the ability of children and adults with autism and other disabilities to initiate requests and respond to questions.
To see the rest of my article on Examiner.com, click here.
Tags: aac, augmentative and alternative communication, autism, children, parents, speech, verbal
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