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Learning to communicate using picture systems can be challenging
for anyone who is non-verbal, minimally verbal or is an emerging communicator.
It can be especially difficult if the student has Autism.
This video will explain one strategy used to support language development
and teach children to communicate with their picture based augmentative
communication systems.
This strategy is called Aided Language. Aided Language
is also known as Aided Language Stimulation, Aided Language
Input, Aided Language Immersion or Augmented Language.
It was created by Elder, Gossens and Crain
and is based on the idea that by watching others use pictures
during motivating activities, children begin to learn
that the picture symbols can be used as communication tools.
To practice Aided Language, we model
or provide examples to the child how to communicate
using pictures. The concept is simple you have to speak with pictures
if you want them to speak in pictures. If you were teaching them French
you would speak to them in French. They have to be exposed to people
speaking with pictures in order to learn how to speak
with pictures like you would do in any language immersion program.
This is how it would look like: you will pair the key word
with his pictures as you talk. For example, if you want to tell the child
time to your crackers you would point to crackers.
As you get better at speaking with pictures
you'll start using more keywords. For example,
you might say time to eat your crackers.
In addition to modeling directives, you also need to comment on what the child
is hearing,
seeing and doing with body language. For example
if you see that the child is resting his head on the table
and rubbing his eyes you can say: I think you're
tired. Aided Language can be used with low-tech
communication systems or high-tech
communication systems. In this next video you're going to see a child with his
EA and his EA providing support with a high-tech
communication device that she carries.
"Need a break? No, not yet. I need you to have somthing to eat.
Good Job." You should use Aided Language to model communication
for many purposes such as: Making comments -
Look I'll go in.
Asking questions - Where
did you go?
Sharing information - She
has
new shoes.
And greetings -
Hi, how are you?
Remember we are using pictures to provide examples
so that the child learns to use pictures to communicate back to us
so we need to talk about things that the child finds
interesting, motivating and useful. Use short
simple language speak slowly and pause at times during the
conversational flow.
Use lots is repetition as you describe ongoing events.
Keep in mind that this will initially slow down your communication but that's
okay
because you're also learning at this will help you to understand
how hard it is to use picture based augmentative communication systems -
it is just like learning a new language. To maximize the child's learning
we should aim to use pictures to communicate with the child
at least 20 times per hour. This might sound like too much on top of
everything else you have to do but think about how verbal kids learn to talk.
By the time they're 18 months old they have been exposed to approximately forty
four hundred hours
of language. That is eight hours a day of hearing spoken language
for 18 months. So, if a non-verbal child is exposed to picture based
communication for only 10 minutes per day
then it would take them eighty-four years to reach the same level the
language exposure
as the 18-month-old verbal child. Our goal is that the child will eventually start pointing
at the pictures to tell you things. Praise them
and continue using Aided Language to have a conversation with them.
Aided Language should be used in a turn taking manner
and focus should be placed on having an enjoyable shared interaction together