Communication and Vision WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE 1
When Worlds Collide • Pre-symbolic and Symbolic Communication • Assessing communication skills of children with VI and concomitant disabilities. • Decision making for AAC • Developing goals • Designing instructional programs 2
Audience Poll Question 3
COMMUNICATION • THE EXCHANGE OF IDEAS, OPINIONS AND FACTS BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE • COMMUNICATION PARTNERS SENDER RECEIVER • SPOKEN AND UNSPOKEN (MODES OF EXPRESSION) 4
“COMMUNICATION IS NOT JUST ABOUT THE MEANS OF EXPRESSION. TOO OFTEN WE SEE THE FOCUS OF INTERVENTION PLACED ON SOME SYMBOLIC FORM WITHOUT CONSIDERATION FOR THE CHILD’S UNDERSTANDING OF THE PURPOSE OF COMMUNICATION.” -Philip D Schweigert; New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. 5
COMMUNICATION • Bonding • Social interaction • Engagement “Children with dual sensory impairment (deaf/blind) and multiple disabilities establish these connections at a pre-symbolic level.” – Dr. Jan van Dijk 6
“CONVERSATIONAL” INTERACTION PROCEEDS LANGUAGE 7
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Foundational Communication Skills: • Cognition/Receptive Language: • Causality-levels • Object permanence • Joint attention • Triadic gaze • Turn taking • Communicative intent 9
EBP-Communicative Intent • Rowland and Schweigert – 2000 • 41 children with a range of severe disabilities; shared lack of symbolic communication. • Those children who were less adept in terms of intentional pre- symbolic communication made slower progress toward acquiring symbolic communication. • 100% of the children with intentional communication behaviors acquired some form of symbolic communication. • 62% of the children without intentional communication behaviors went on to form some level of symbolic communication FOLLOWING extensive instruction in the use of pre-symbolic communication. • 38% of the children without pre-symbolic communication did not acquire any symbolic communication during the course of intervention. 10
MODES OF COMMUNICATION UNAIDED AIDED FACIAL EXPRESSION OBJECTS VOCALIZATION/SPEECH PARTIAL OBJECTS BODY MOVEMENTS PICTURES: photographs, BODY “LANGUAGE” line drawings, cartoons, Picsyms, Dynasyms, etc. GESTURES SPEECH GENERATING SIGN LANGUAGE DEVICES (LOW-HIGH) EYE GAZE iPads, leisure devices 11
Communicative Functions • Gain attention • Protest/refuse • Comment (express interest) • Request/choice making • Gain information • Engagement/social • Bond emotionally • Form relationships 12
LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION PRESYMBOLIC SYMBOLIC • REFLEXIVE BEHAVIOR • CONCRETE SYMBOLS • INTENTIONAL BEHAVIOR • ABSTRACT SYMBOLS • INTENTIONAL • LANGUAGE COMMUNICATION • rule bound • UNCONVENTIONAL • semantics, syntax, GESTURES phonology, • CONVENTIONAL morphology GESTURES 13
ASSESSMENT • Tells us how the child perceives the world • Their ability to impact it • Their desire to do that • Initiation and Intent 14
ASSESSMENT FORMAL/INFORMAL: • STANDARDIZED • OBSERVATIONAL CHECKLISTS • DEVELOPMENTAL • NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND TYPICAL DEVELOPMENT • SPLINTER SKILLS • NO “ONE SIZE FITS ALL”-EACH CHILD IS UNIQUE • CRITERION REFERENCED • WHERE THE CHILD FUNCTIONS WITHIN A DOMAIN • PLAY BASED ASSESSMENT • OPTIMALLY TRANSDISCIPLINARY • REQUIRES A STRONG PROFESSIONAL SKILL SET • ASTUTE OBSERVATIONAL SKILLS 15
• Communication • Environmental Access • Cognition 16
Environmental Access • Interacting with the social and physical environment is central to learning • Helps children learn how the world works • Learn how to solve problems that arise in it • Manipulating their physical environment (objects) provides the motivation to explore further; master new skills 17
What is AAC? • Augmentative and alternative communication is achieved by any means other than oral language. Who uses AAC? • Anyone with complex communication needs. 18
AAC Decision Making BEHAVIOR COGNITION MOTIVATION SENSORY: VISON/ MOTOR HEARING ACADEMICS COMMUNICATION 19
“And, from the prism of our field of specialty, and in conjunction with other team members, we need to determine what is owning to vision and what is owing to other challenges.”- Mary Morse; AER Journal: Research and Practice in Visual Impairment and Blindness; Volume 1, #2, Fall 2008 • Vision as a psychological process • Vision as an emotional process • Vision as a motor process • Vision as a cognitive process • Increased visual awareness works for some children; others understand tactile- kinesthetic-motor approach better. “Hands first; eyes follow” 20
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AAC FEATURE MATCHING DEVICE FEATURES CHILD SKILLS • Visual feedback • Visual skills • Auditory feedback • Auditory Skills • Cognition for operation • Cognitive skills • Language organization • Language skills • Operation, programming • User Motivation • Flexibility, growth • Academic skills • Durability, repair • Behavior Needs • Motor access features • Motor skills (fine/gross) • Tactual features 22
Aided Symbol Hierarchy Most Iconic to Least OBJECTS IDENTICAL OBJECT COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS PARTIAL OR ASSOCIATED OBJECT BLACK AND WHITE SYMBOL SHARING ONLY 1-2 FEATURES OF THE OBJECT MINIATURES PHOTOGRAPH BLACK AND WHITE DRAWINGS PICSYMS/BLISSSYMBOLS SPECIFIC LINE DRAWING TRADITIONAL ORTHOGRAPHY (WRITTEN GENERIC LINE DRAWING WORD) ROWLAND & SCHWEIGERT, MIRENDA & LOCKE, 1989 2000 23
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