Talk To Me With Visuals

Aided Language Stimulation

•What is ALS? 

•Engineered Environments

•Preschool

•Elementary School

•Middle School

•Activity Boards

Authors

Carol GoossensSharon Sapp Crain

Pamela S. Elder

Aided Language Stimulation

This is an approach to language stimulation in which the teacher/therapist/parent etc. points to pictures or symbols on a communication display whilst speaking.

This models interactive use of pictures and symbols and helps the child to develop understanding of the spoken word.

Carol Goossens, Ph.D.

In Other Words…..

The facilitator points out picture symbols on the child’s communication display in conjunction with all ongoing verbal language stimulation being directed toward the child.

Aided Language Stimulation

Encourage functionalcommunication within an activity-based framework

Vocabulary Choice

Preplanning is necessary

•identifying and prioritizing which activities will be targeted for intervention

•selecting appropriate vocabulary

TEAM MEETINGS

Color Coding for

Communication:

Many different systems

Fitzgerald key

People - Yellow

Verbs - Green

Descriptions - Blue

Nouns – Orange Social - Pink

Miscellaneous - White

Ingfield Dynamic Vocabularies (IDV)

Purple - function symbols e.g. backspace, clear, print, page changers Yellow - people and animals Red - nouns Burgundy - “food categories” Green - verbs:

dark green - past tense, mid-green - present tense,

pale green - auxiliaries and word endings Blue - adjectives Tan – prepositionsRusset - preposition phrases White - sentence starters (black border - see below) Pink - social conventions Turquoise - time concepts Grey - “little words”

Fine Tuning

Vocabulary that will allow you to conduct a running commentary of what is happening while engaged in

that activity

Opt for more ‘economical”message

Put it in

Instead of: Put it in the boxPut it in the bowlPut it in the cup

Communication Boards

•designing the overlays

•color-coding the overlays by parts of speech

•using supplemental symbols

Team Meetings

Considerable preplanning is necessary to ensure that the

communication displays required for a target activity are readily

accessible to facilitators for providing ALS

Putting Communication in Place

•training the individual to use the communication displays

•creating opportunities for functional use of the communication displays

•"engineering the environment" so materials and communication displays are readily available

Engineering Environments

Close Proximity to where the language will be needed

Quick retrieval to be able to use with current activitiesStorage

Format

Study

The Effect of Aided Language Stimulation on Vocabulary Acquisition in Children with Little or No

Functional Speech

Shakila DadaErna Alant

Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication, University of Pretoria

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology 2008; doi:10.1044/1058-0360(2008/07-0018)

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology 2009;18:50.

Findings•3 week long aided language stimulation program

•Vocabulary acquisition skills of children with little or no functional speech

•3 activities: visual arts and crafts, food preparation, and story time activity

•Each activity was repeated over the duration of 5 subsequent sessions

•Eight target vocabulary items were taught within each activity

•All 24 target items was probed

•Used 70% of the time with an 80:20 ratio of statements to questions

All 4 participants acquired the target vocabulary items

Jane Korsten

The average 18 month old child is exposed to 4,380 hours of oral language at a rate of 8 hours/day

from birth.

A child that has a communication system and receives speech/language therapy two times per week for 20-30 minutes will reach this same amount

of language exposure in 84 years.

ResourcesCommunication Displays for Engineered Preschool Environments Books I and II.  by:  Carol Goossens', Sharon Sapp Crain and Pamela S. Elder. 

Engineering the Preschool Environment for Interactive, Symbolic Communication  by:  Carol Goossens', Sharon Sapp Crain and Pamela S. Elder

Engineering Training Environments for Interactive Augmentative Communication:  Strategies for Adolescents and Adults who are Moderately/Severely Developmentally Delayed.  by:  Pamela S. Elder and Carol Goossens'

Communication Overlays for Engineering Training Environments, Books I, II, III and IV  by:  Pamela S. Elder and Carol Goossens'