Is communication really the point? Some thoughts on interventions and membership

This paper presents a brief account of communication interventions and describes recent developments in the field resulting in shifts in intervention focus, perspectives, and strategies. In examining communication interventions as one example of professional efforts to ameliorate the effects of disability, the author concluded that the real point of such efforts is not so much improved communication as membership in society. The concept of membership was explored, including the ways in which individuals construct stories that make the communication acts of individuals with severe disabilities commonplace and socially valuable. Efforts to foster communication (e.g., change behavior, adjust movement) should shift to ensuring that membership in society is achieved.