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6940 What Can I Do? Strategies for Encouraging Reciprocal Communication with Children Diagnosed with ASD [CRC Session]


Thursday, July 24, 2014: 10:45 AM-12:00 PM
206 (Indiana Convention Center)
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Communication is hard. It requires many developmental pre-requisites. Traditionally we address communication from a deficit model, targeting only the abilities that the student is not demonstrating. This session will challenge the deficit approach and instead provide a model of opportunity creation. Participants will learn simple, effective strategies to improve communication. The purpose of this session is to highlight the importance of reciprocal communication in an individual’s overall development and provide participants with specific strategies for creating the space necessary to encourage independent contributions from their students.  Traditional prompting methods often lead to students becoming dependent on these prompts and communicating in an artificial “response only” manner.  Additionally, communication becomes a trained behavior versus the dynamic exchange observed with typically developing students.   However, targeting adjustments to one’s own communication efforts will have an important impact on a student’s communication.  Improvements in overall engagement, active participation, and negative behaviors.will also be observed with mindful implementation of the communication strategies targeted.     The session is appropriate for teachers and all support professionals (and parents!) working with students with communication challenges.  Strategies will target nonverbal and low verbal students as well as students who use their communication abilities primarily to request and/or respond to direct prompts.  The presenters will lead discussion using handouts and video demonstration.

Learning Objectives:

  • Participants will recognize the importance of their own communication use and the impact of their communication on the communication of their student.
  • Participants will be able to name three specific strategies to facilitate spontaneous, independent contributions during reciprocal communication with their students.
  • Participants will able to differentiate the process that leads to prompt dependency in nonverbal, low verbal, and “response only” verbal students.

Content Area: Communication

Presenters:

Amy Cameron, M.A., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Pathways Treatment Center

Amy is a Speech-Language Pathologist and a Certified RDI Program Consultant. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and her Master’s degree from the University of Maryland. Amy owns Pathways Treatment Center in North Carolina. Amy was a Keynote Speaker at the Autism Society of Louisiana’s 2011 conference.

Vicky Poston Roy, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist/Private Consultant
Dynamic Therapy Specialists

Vicky is a speech-language pathologist and owns a private practice. She received her Bachelor/Master’s degrees from Louisiana State University and her Doctorate in Speech and Language from the University of North Carolina. She consults families impacted by ASD. Vicky’s research interests are early language and literacy development.