Augmentative and alternative means of communication for teaching students with severe disabilities - Essay Example

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has identified that “there are over 2 million individuals in the United States who cannot reply on speech as their primary means of communication” (Vinson, 2001, p. 139). This statistics reveal the scope and importance of AAC in the United States. These learners are subjected to various types of cognitive and physical deficits which add to their speech deficits in their developmental period. It has been identified that other systems of augmentative and alternative communication, such as gestures, sign language, picture or word boards, alphabet boards, and systems with synthesized or digitized speech are better suited for such students with severe disabilities.

The rights of students with severe disabilities have long been recognized. There have been a good number of legislations that sought to address the issue of teaching students with severe disability through various augmentative and alternative communication means. . e both augmentative and alternative means of communication present, explores the various ways they are being practiced today and tries to offer suggestions with regard to the instructional strategies that are being employed as part of the AAC.

It is significant to understand the meaning and depth of augmentative and alternative means of communication for students with severe disabilities. Augmentative system of communication has long been discussed and researched upon. As Browder points out, “an augmentative system of communication may be used to assist students who have either expressive or receptive communication problems” (Browder, 2001, p. 312). Augmentative systems of communication can be categorized as either aided or unaided.

While the aided system makes use of such instructional devices as picture wallets, communication boards, or computer system, the unaided system resorts to natural instructional methods such as hand gestures or manual signing. However, it is significant to make use of the most effective augmentative communication system in accordance with the learners’ various social contexts. Alternative means of communication generally refers to such communication devices that enable students who cannot speak to communicate using other means.

For Duran “accommodations, adaptations, and assistive technology all enable children with disabilities to fully participate in typical home, school, and community activities” (Duran, 2006, p. 79-80). Participative learning can very well be employed in the case of learners with severe disabilities. For instance, a child who is unable to write the letters may be assisted by another student in a general education class with the help of a keyboard or some other assistive technology devices. It is worthwhile to