Building relationships to facilitate learning of children and adults who use AAC

Transcription

1 Building relationships to facilitate learning of children and adults who use AAC Taiwan February 2014 Erna Alant (D.Phil) Indiana University

2 Purpose of this talk Why talk about relationship building? What are the core issues in facilitating relationships? Implications for intervention : What do we need to pay attention to?

3 Story about a Game Ranger in South Africa _nelson_mandela.html Human nature inter-relatedness between humans and animals - game ranger saving his life - how elephants looked after a young elephant that was born with only one deformed leg

4 Inter-connectedness

5 Inter-connectedness

6 Ubuntu: I am because of you Being part of a community feeling one with those around you is the essence of being human: Communication : development of meaning, becoming part of others and through that understanding yourself

7 Friendship More than just fleeting contact Sustained interest between people Mutual Compassion and understanding Empathic listening as a skill: respect, attention and care (Verde, 2013) Friendship is not only about cognitive exchanges, but emotional resonance

8 What is needed for friendships to develop?

9 Opportunity to interact, participation (Alant et al., 2009) Participation in activities Role of games (computer and other) Social media: e.g. , Facebook Access to opportunities Sustained interest, engagement Interest (respect, attention) Care (understanding and compassion)

10 Types of Friendships Different types and levels of friendships Frequency and intensity of interaction Maintaining a good balance in types of relationships: frequency and quality Social networks (Blackstone et al., 2003)

11 Circle of Friends

12 Challenges Misunderstandings : difficulties to comprehend each other Repairing breakdowns How do we facilitate building relationships? Various publications identifying the need for relationship building in AAC extreme loneliness : interaction between technical skills in operating devices and relating to others e.g. Ballin & Balandin (2007). Do you first learn to talk and then to relate? Technology as an extension of the person or an external aid? Human Activity AT model (HAAT) Cook & Hussey (2002). Who are included in the potential circle of friends?

13 AAC users perceptions of what they need Need for friendships ongoing Being understood Being recognized as people who have something to contribute Natural occurring allow friendships to evolve Frequency of interaction, joint experiences Quality, social closeness Mutual understanding and compassion

14 Teacher & Parent Perspectives Teachers play a central role in providing quality education because of their interaction with students Children with severe communication problems pose significant challenges to interactions wit teachers and parents Use of augmentative and alternative strategies to facilitate communication Various studies conducted in US: Soto, Muller, Hunt & Goetz (2001) Bailey, Stoner, Parette & Angell (2006) McNaughton, Rackensberger, Benedek-Wood, Krezman, Williams & Light (2008) Alant, Champion & Peabody (2012) Alant, Ogle & Tan (2013 submitted)

15 What do we need to aim for? Development of close relationships with those around them regardless of the communication strategy Feeling part of interactions forms the motivational basis for learning

16 Surface - AAC strategies and Core - Being with the person Self : Being with, Shared Humanity Empathy, feeling with Surface: Strategies What we see Technology

17 Video- team Assessment at the Center for AAC (first visit) Mbali video Sitting with parents talking no response Positioning asked to play Responses Access to opportunities to participate Finding the child s interests Interest and engagement the initial phases of building relationships Recognition of the individual interest and participation

18 Where will you start with intervention? Engagement Participation parents teachers and Peers & siblings Principles: see/observe, wait, action

19 Participation Components of Communication (Alant et al. 2009) High High Engagement Low Low

20 Video of Jandrie Nicola Grove (UK AAC therapist) co-narrating with Jandrie to tell a story. Preparation Joint narration Engagement Participation

21 Video

22 Strategies Used What interaction strategies are used in this video that could be beneficial in developing friendships? Human interest story Why is this important?

23 What communication modes are used? Facial expression, Manual signs Eye contact Body movement: Rhythm Touch Speech Sounds (galloping) Speech output device - Big Mack (one word utterance)

24 What strategies are used to facilitate interaction? Joint attention & actions = conarration Waiting Changing focus facing each other facing others: awareness of others Using the speech output device to comment

25 How do these skills facilitate the development of relationships? Relevance interest Flexibility: responding to.. High number of exchanges: multimodal communication Look/see, wait, action

26 Thank you

27 References Alant, E; Uys, K & Tonsing, K (2009). Communication, Language and Literacy learning in Children with Developmental Disabilities. In Matson, J; Andrasik, F & Matson, M (Eds). Treating Childhood Psychopathology and Developmental Disabilities. New York: Springer, pp Ballin, L & Balandin, S (2007).An exploration of loneliness: communication and the social networks of older people with cerebral palsy. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disablity, 32(4), Brennan, L. C. (2011). Teaching Perspective-Taking skills to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Austin, Texas: Pro-ed. Garrison-Harrell, L., Kamps, D., & Kravits, T. (1997). The effects of peer networks on social-communicative behaviors of students with autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 12, Cook,A. M & Hussey, S, M. (2002) Assistive Technologies. St Louis: Mosby. Hwang, B., & Hughes, C. (2000). The effects of social interactive training on early social communicative skills of children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30(4), Jones, C. D., & Schwartz, I. S. (2004). Sibling, peers, and adults: Differentiated effects of models for children with autism. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 24, Kent-Walsh, J.E., & Light, J.C. (2003). General education teachers experiences with inclusion of students who use augmentative and alternative communication. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 19, Koegel, L.K. (2000). Interventions to facilitate communication in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30, Kohler, F. W., & Strain, P. S. (1999). Combining incidental teaching and peer-mediation. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 19, Kovach, T., McCord, S., Moore, S. M., & Sementelli, A. (1992). Stories and Strategies for Communication (Chapter 4): A Minspeak Application Program. Wooster, OH: Prentke Romich Co. Laushey, K. M., & Heflin, L. J. (2000). Enhancing social skills of kindergarten children with autism through the training of multiple peers as tutors. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30, Lilienfeld, M., & Alant, E. (2005). The social interaction of an adolescent who uses AAC: The evaluation of a peer training programme. Augmentative and Alternative Communication. 21(4), McGee, G. G., Almeida, M. C., Sulzer-Azaroff, B., & Feldman, R. S. (1992). Promoting reciprocal interactions via peer incidental teaching. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 25, Thiemann, K., & Goldstein, H. (2001). Social stories, written text cues, and video feedback: Effects on social communication of children with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34, Thiemann, K., & Goldstein, H. (2004). Effects of peer training and written text cueing on social communication of school-age children with pervasive developmental disorder. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 47, Tonsing, K,, Alant, & Dada (2014). Teaching graphic symbol combinations during shared storybook reading. Manuscript submitted for publication. Trottier, N., Kamp, L., & Mirenda, P. (2011). Effects of peer-mediated instruction to teach use of speech-generating devices to