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Published on: January 23, 2017
Increasing Communication in Children With Concurrent Vision and Hearing Loss
Nancy C Brady1, Susan M Bashinski
1University of Kansas, Lawrence.
Summary
This study shows that adapted prelinguistic milieu teaching (A-PMT) significantly improved intentional communication in children with complex needs, including vision and hearing loss. Participants increased communication rates and learned new gestures.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Speech-Language Pathology
- Special Education
Background:
- Children with complex communication needs and sensory impairments often face significant challenges in developing prelinguistic communication skills.
- Existing interventions may require adaptation to effectively address the unique needs of this population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of an adapted prelinguistic milieu teaching (A-PMT) intervention in increasing intentional prelinguistic communication in children with concurrent vision and hearing losses.
- To explore the acquisition of new natural gestures and communication functions within this population.
Main Methods:
- A pilot, descriptive study involving nine children with complex communication needs, vision loss, and hearing loss.
- Implementation of A-PMT, focusing on natural gestures and vocalizations in one-on-one activities with enhanced physical prompting and alternative directionality cues.
- Data collection on rates of initiated, intentional communication and types of gestures acquired.
Main Results:
- All nine participants demonstrated substantial increases in their rates of initiated, intentional communication.
- Each participant acquired new forms of natural gestures during the intervention.
- Communication gains were primarily observed in the function of requests.
Conclusions:
- Adapted prelinguistic milieu teaching (A-PMT) is a promising intervention for enhancing prelinguistic communication in children with complex needs and sensory impairments.
- Further research is needed to explore strategies for promoting more generalized communication development beyond requests.
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