Teaching requesting and rejecting sequences to four children with developmental disabilities using augmentative and...

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Special Education
• Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Background:

• Children with developmental disabilities often face challenges in expressing needs and preferences.
• Effective communication strategies are crucial for improving the quality of life and independence for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of teaching an integrated requesting-rejecting communication sequence.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of speech-generating devices (SGD) and picture-exchange (PE) for this integrated communication skill.

Main Methods:

• Four children with developmental disabilities participated in the study.
• Participants were taught to request missing items and reject incorrect items using either SGD or PE.
• Intervention focused on an integrated sequence of requesting and rejecting.

Main Results:

• Acquisition of targeted requesting and rejecting responses was observed following the introduction of teaching procedures.
• Generalization of rejecting responses occurred across two untrained activities.
• Response maintenance was noted for up to four weeks post-intervention in three out of four participants.

Conclusions:

• Combining missing-item and wrong-item formats is a viable method for teaching integrated requesting and rejecting sequences.
• This integrated approach can be successfully implemented with students with developmental disabilities using SGD or PE communication.