An aided language modeling intervention to support SLPs and caregivers

Abstract

Family supports are essential to the communication development of children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Evidence suggests that children’s communication development hinges upon training provided to families (Dempsey & Keen, 2008) and that children experience the best outcomes when family members are well-trained and highly engaged (Seligman & Darling, 2017). However, families are rarely provided with necessary training to support AAC (Lund & Light, 2007). Despite the benefit of support and training for families of children who use AAC, the majority of research has focused narrowly on mothers(Kent-Walsh et al., 2015), with limited research supporting fathers (Douglas at al., 2017a; Douglas at al., 2017b) and siblings(Douglas at al., 2018). Few interventions exist to fill this need in the literature.

In this session, we will share the initial findings from our IES funded study which includes implementation of the FamTAM intervention with SLPs and caregivers. We will detail the components of the intervention and the online training format and structure. We will also detail results from our single case studies including outcomes for SLP coaching fidelity, caregiver ALM implementation, and child communication skills.

 Given the call within the literature to provide training support for all communication partners and a lack of transparency in the literature related to intervention development processes, our research fills an important gap investigating the best approaches to improve outcomes for children who use AAC. Based on results from this project, schools and therapeutic organizations may want to consider adopting AAC interventions to practitioners, family members, and children who use AAC.