Communication Assessment Project

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COMMUNICATION ASSESSMENT PROJECT: STUDENT R 1

Communication Assessment Project

October 16, 2013

Jami L. Shlensky

Student Profile

The student with whom I worked with for the communication assessment project

provided a wealth of knowledge about the wide variety of communication that exists. Student R,


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the student I worked with, is twelve years old and currently in seventh grade at Jefferson Middle

School. At birth, R was diagnosed with an intellectual disability which contributes to her

extremely low use of spoken language. She currently follows an adapted, functional life skills

curriculum in which she learns life skills such as toileting, social interactions, and community

skills. Most of her day is spent in the self-contained functional life skills classroom. However,

she does partake in limited classes with typically developing peers, such as art. According to an

interview with Rs teacher, which was completed on September 13, 2013, R is good at getting

what she needs without using her device, an iPad with the Proloquo2go application installed on it

(Kim Patton, personal communication). Rs teacher reported that R is able to communicate using

gestures, very few verbal phrases such as no, and can communicate her dislikes or wants by

leaving a situation or making very loud noises if she is dissatisfied. However, it is often that

teachers and staff members are unable to understand her wants and needs due to unclear

expressive communication. Often R will direct the staff member towards what she wants but if

she does not do so, it is difficult to decipher her communication (Kim Patton, personal

communication, 9/13/13). Although she has an augmentative and alternative communication

system, according to information documented from the teacher interview, the only message that

R can currently communicate using the Proloquo2go application is saying what she wants to eat,

when asked. Aside from that, the student relies on physical prompts to use the communication

device and does not make her own choices but is rather guided to a choice by a staff member. In

order for the iPad to be a functional device for Student R, she needs to learn how to use it to

obtain her wants and needs using the Proloquo2go application. According to Rs teacher, she

would like R to be able to notify someone when she needs to use the restroom and also use the

communication device for social interactions and greetings with peers.


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Expressive Communication

Rs expressive communication skills are very limited. However, she has her own ways

that she can communicate her needs and wants to those around her. Often these ways include

physical gestures, noises, or refusal. An example of this was during the direct observation on

October 3, 2013, R ran away from the activity at hand due her to desire to not partake. R and her

classmates were playing the board game Sorry! and instead of using her iPad, which was

directly in front of the student, R simply rose from her seat and ran to the other side of the room

and started walking around (Direct Observation, 10/3/13). Due to the fact that the student cannot

verbally communicate and cannot functionally use her AAC device, she expressively

communicates using physical gestures or removing herself from a given situation. A similar

instance occurred during the Direct Interaction Assessment, when I was assessing the students

receptive communication during physical education class. On October 9, 2013, I used form B3 of

the direct interaction assessment and was assessing Rs ability to follow directions using

photographs. However, R, at the time was extremely disinterested in doing what I was asking her

to. As a result, when I showed her the photographs of the actions I was asking her to perform,

she would look at it, pause, and walk away (Direct Observation, 10/9/13). It was clear that she

was not following the directions but she also had no interest in partaking and communicated that

by walking away. According to the cooperating teacher interview, R is able to vocalize no and

at some point in her education was taught and used some sign language expressively but signing

is no longer a skill that R is capable of. During this interview the teacher explained Rs skill in

removing herself from activities and communicating her dislikes. However, the teacher

expressed that R needs to learn how to communicate what she likes and wants using her iPad

(Kim Patton, Personal Communication, 9/13/13). Expressive communication, according to my


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observations as well as the teacher interview, is a great need because R has the means of

performing it but cannot, due to the lack of instruction surrounding the AAC device. The teacher

also communicated that she would like R to be able to use her device to express when she needs

to use the restroom. I observed this need during my direct observation on October 3, 2013, when

the student wet herself during a classroom activity. It is clear, that Rs expressive communication

is limited but has many areas for instruction so that she can be successful in interacting with the

world around her.

Receptive Communication

While Rs expressive communication skills are rather limited, she is able to understand

most communication and has a much higher level of performance when it comes to receptive

communication. According to the teacher interview, R is able to understand simple directions but

due to her disability, can be very stubborn, and chooses not to follow the directions given to her.

R enjoys to be left alone and as a result although she might understand the instructions she

makes the active choice to not follow them (Kim Patton, Personal Communication, 9/13/13). I

was able to witness this behavior when I entered Rs classroom toperform a preference

assessment with the student on October 8, 2013. When I asked R to sit at the table in which I had

set up in order to perform the assessment, she heard me, looked at the table, and walked in the

other direction. In order for her to sit down for the assessment, Rs teacher had to remove her

shoe, which R hates, and take it over to the table, where R was able to put it back on when she

was sitting down (MSOW Assessment, 10/8/13). Rs ability to comprehend directions, and

choose to do or not do them, was also observed earlier on October 8, 2013 while I assessed her

ability to respond to simple directions. When I verbally asked R to sit down, run, and throw a

basketball by saying R, please _____, she performed all three actions immediately. However,


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when asked to stand up, run, and lay down, R did not perform the requested action. When asked

to stand up it was clear that R did not want to because she continued sitting and tapping the

ground. However, it seemed as if she did not understand the directions to run or jump as she just

continued to stand in front of me (Direct Interaction, B3, 10/8/13). Her ability to use receptive

communication was demonstrated in that same session when I communicated with R using sign

language to ask her to perform the same six activities in physical education class. She

immediately follow the directions to stand up and throw a basketball when I communicated with

her using American Sign Language (Direct Interaction, B3, 10/8/13). Overall, Rs receptive

communication is functional when she is interested in performing the activity. It is clear that she

needs to learn how to use her Proloquo2go application to communicate when she needs

directions again or when she doesnt understand what someone is asking her. This expressive

communication would help improve her receptive communication by R being able to

communicate her understanding and further needs for instruction.

Social Interactions

Social interactions, for R, are extremely difficult because her expressive communication,

which is how most typical social interactions are performed, is very limited. Student R rarely

interacts with her typically developing peers nor her peers in her Functional Life Skills

classroom. According to the cooperating teacher interview, R seems to have some sort of

relationship with a friend in her FLS classroom, B. This relationship is communicated via a

desire to sit next to each other and be in each others company. However, the teacher explained

that R, when spoken to by her classmates, does not respond. She sometimes will partake in

parallel play in the classroom but R prefers to be left alone. She will choose to play on her iPad

or with other games in a separate location from her peers within the classroom (Kim Patton,


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Personal Communication, 9/13/13). When I observed R in the cafeteria during lunch on

September 25, 2013, she did not interact with anyone around her while her typically developing

peers were interacting with other students in her FLS class. I also saw this to be true during my

observation of R in the FLS classroom on October 3. R made no attempt to communicate with

peers during Sorry!. When social interaction was initiated towards R, hand over hand

prompting had to be used by a staff member in order for R to socially communicate (Direct

Observation, 10/3/13). Rs needs are high when it comes to social skills. Rs teacher expressed

during the interview that she would like for R to learn how to greet others. Currently, in order to

greet someone, R not only needs physical prompting but she needs support in finding the social

page within her Proloquo2go application. R needs to learn how to have a small talk

conversation with someone. She should learn how to use her AAC device to expressively

communicate things such as Hello, How are you?, Im fine!, etc (Kim Patton, Personal

Communication, 10/13/13). In order to satisfy these needs R should be instructed on how to

expressively communicate social greetings using her iPad. She will also need natural

opportunities for instruction and practice.

Assistive Technology

As stated above, Student R uses the Proloquo2go application that is installed on her first

generation iPad. This is considered Rs alternative and augmentative communication device

although the iPad is also used for games and other applications at times. According to the teacher

interview, R has been using this device since she was in elementary school but has very little

proficiency with it. The teacher communicated that pictures were previously used with R but that

when the iPad was purchased when she was in third grade that it was then used with the

Proloquo2go app. Rs parents purchased the ipad and application for her but she cannot operate


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the device independently (Kim Patton, Personal Communication, 9/13/13). She currently only

uses the iPad to communicate when directed with physical prompting. The student is able to

press buttons on the application, as she will, at random, press icons on the application that

produces expressive communication. She is also able to navigate the iPad because she often

presses the home button to exit the Proloquo2go application (Kelly Moran, Personal

Communication, 10/4/13). According to Rs teacher, she is able to select some food items that

she desires. During the Assessment of her assistive technology usage she touched random icons,

did not touch what I was asking her to touch, or touched the wrong icon. According to part A on

Form D9 of the Direct Interaction Assessment, which was taken on October 9, 2013, R is unable

to use her device in an activity context. This data was taken, once again, while students in the

FLS classroom were playing the board game Sorry!. I provided R with opportunities to use the

words and phrases available to her in her communication device by asking her specific questions

and asking her to say what we were doing but no response was given at those times. The only

time she used the phrases at hand was when she pressed the icons I need a break and no at

random points within the interaction. On October 12, 2013, I performed part B of Form D9 due

to the fact that R was unable to communicate, using her device, in a setting that presented natural

opportunities. In order to collect data on part B, I asked R to show me 20 different messages or

words by saying, Show me the symbol for ____. Out of those twenty opportunities the student

never found the message at the right time and most often made no attempt to even touch the

device. There were three times when the student pressed one of the twenty messages but it was

not when prompted. It was at random when I was instructing R to communicate another message

to me. Overall, this data from the direct interaction allowed me to see that R is unable to

functionally use the assistive technology that is available to her. She needs direct instruction on


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how to operate the Proloquo2go application to find what she wants to say and communicate. She

needs to learn how to navigate the application. Aside from that, she needs to independently learn

that by using the application she will be able to obtain the things that she wants. As a result of

the data collected on Part B of Form D9, it seems, due to the fact that most often R did not even

touch the iPad when prompted, that Student R does not understand that the device will allow her

to communicate her wants and needs.

Preferences and Non-Preferences

As a result of the Multiple Stimuli without Replacement Preference assessment that was

taken on October 3, 8, and 10, 2013, R has clear likes and dislikes of leisure items that can be

used for reinforcement. The student, according to the teacher interview, does not have a lot of

material preferences and if she does like them they are not necessarily age appropriate. These

select items are used at times that reinforcement needed because the student will not accept other

forms of reinforcement and prefers to be left alone than to receive an unfamiliar reward. These

items are kept in a bag in the classroom and are reserved, according to the teacher, for times

when R needs to work for something (Kim Patton, Personal Communication, 9/13/13).

According to the MSWO Preference Assessments conducted, R prefers the following items, in

order from most preferred to least preferred; Barney Doll, Doll, Apple Letters, Wobbles, Float

Dots Game, Dish Mat, and Big Red Ball. According to the teacher interview on September 13,

2013, R also likes Cheez-It crackers but the teacher does not recommend using edible

reinforcement with R because she will not always accept it. Rs teacher also expressed that R

dislikes having her shoes off, sitting in certain places, and being forced to use her

communication device. R will do anything to have her shoes back on. She will follow directions

given in order to obtain the shoe. Her dislike of being forced to use the Proloquo2go application


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is communicated by her going to the home screen of her iPad and using other applications when

she is expected to be trying to use it to communicate. Lastly, her seating preferences are

communicated when she gets up and runs away from a location she is expected to be seated in

(Kim Patton, Personal Communication, 9/13/13). The data taken from the Preference

Assessments allowed me to conclude that Rs preferences are playing with the Barney doll, other

doll, apple letter, or wobbles. These preferences can be used to teach communication by using

them as reinforcement when R properly uses her iPad to communicate. In order to get R to use

her communication device, extrinsic reinforcement will have to be given based upon the fact that

being forced to use her communication device is one of her non-preferences. These items,

preferred by R, can be used to encourage that use. Rs non-preference of having her shoe taken

off can also be used to keep R in an area to deliver instruction. When Rs shoe is removed she

will promptly return to the area in which her shoe is located in order to get it back on. These

preferences and non-preferences can be used to promote R to communicate.

Priority Communication Skills

From all of the data collected, two priority communication skills can be easily identified

for Student R. First, R needs to learn how to greet those around her. This is necessary because

the student currently has very little to no social interaction. This is not only detrimental to her

quality of life but also, social interaction is an age appropriate skill for a seventh grader. If R was

able to greet others and ask them how they are, inclusive opportunities for her to interact with her

typically developing peers will emerge. The second skill that is necessary for R to obtain is

expressing when she needs to use the restroom. This was observed as a pertinent skill when

during a direct observation on October 3, 2013, the student wet herself in the middle of an

activity despite her bathrooming schedule. If R could communicate her need to use the restroom,


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accidents could be avoided. This is also an extremely important life skill. In order to address

these priority skills Rs iPad and Proloquo2go application will be required. She should learn how

to carry out these two skills on her communication device because it is a tangible, practical, and

familiar option for R. Overall, learning to use the device for these two skills will open many

other opportunities for communication learning such as how to make requests and how to

express needs and wants.

References

DeLeon, I.G., & Iwata, B.A. (1996). Evaluation of a multiple stimulus presentation format for

assessing reinforcer preferences.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 29. 519-533.

Downing, J. (2005). Teaching communication skills to students with severe disabilities(2nd

ed.). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company.

Communication Assessment Project

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