Project I: Communication by People with Profound Multiple Impairments Individuals with profound multiple impairments (PMI) are those who have cognitive, sensory, and motor disorders leading to severe deficits in communication. Generally, individuals with PMI are nonverbal and rarely exhibit intentional nonsymbolic communicative behavior. In our recent research, we developed ways for many individuals with PMI to control sources of stimulation with adaptive switches and to indicate preferences about types of stimulation (e.g., music versus vibration). Some individuals also have learned how to choose between two concurrently available sources by refraining from closing the switch for one source and closing the switch for an alternative. These skills represent acquisition of a developmental cusp we refer to as contingency discrimination. We propose to demonstrate that individuals who acquire this cusp can learn another pair of contingencies: (a) refraining from closing the switch maintains contact with a highly preferred source of stimulation and (b) closing the switch brings assistance when the highly preferred source is momentarily unavailable. With single-subject behavior-analytic methods, we propose to find the individualized combinations of switch-closure requirements and calling modes (e.g., voice output communication aide, buzzer) that lead to reliable, contextually controlled signaling. Signal users will be tested for generalization to opportunities to signal for session initiation and to request that a low-preference source of stimulation be replaced with a high-preference source. The proposed research will merge innovative and traditional teaching methods to reveal a communication potential not previously thought possible with this population. With logistic regression analyses we will test several hypotheses regarding possible relations between participant variables and outcome success. The significance of the research is that it has the potential to demonstrate how even the most significantly impaired individuals can advance along the continuum of communication development as well as reveal who among them is most likely to succeed.
| Olswang, Lesley B; Dowden, Patricia; Feuerstein, Julie et al. (2014) Triadic gaze intervention for young children with physical disabilities. J Speech Lang Hear Res 57:1740-53 |
| Brady, Nancy C; Anderson, Christa J; Hahn, Laura J et al. (2014) Eye tracking as a measure of receptive vocabulary in children with autism spectrum disorders. Augment Altern Commun 30:147-59 |
| Brady, Nancy C; Thiemann-Bourque, Kathy; Fleming, Kandace et al. (2013) Predicting language outcomes for children learning augmentative and alternative communication: child and environmental factors. J Speech Lang Hear Res 56:1595-612 |
| Barker, R Michael; Akaba, Sanae; Brady, Nancy C et al. (2013) Support for AAC use in preschool, and growth in language skills, for young children with developmental disabilities. Augment Altern Commun 29:334-46 |
| Olswang, Lesley B; Feuerstein, Julie L; Pinder, Gay Lloyd et al. (2013) Validating dynamic assessment of triadic gaze for young children with severe disabilities. Am J Speech Lang Pathol 22:449-62 |
| Saunders, Muriel D; Sella, Ana Carolina; Attri, Dua et al. (2013) Establishing a conditional signal for assistance in teenagers with blindness. Res Dev Disabil 34:1488-97 |
| Brady, Nancy C; Fleming, Kandace; Thiemann-Bourque, Kathy et al. (2012) Development of the communication complexity scale. Am J Speech Lang Pathol 21:16-28 |
| Thiemann-Bourque, Kathy (2012) Peer-Mediated AAC Instruction for Young Children with Autism and other Developmental Disabilities. Perspect Augment altern commun 21: |
| Thiemann-Bourque, Kathy S; Brady, Nancy C; Fleming, Kandace K (2012) Symbolic play of preschoolers with severe communication impairments with autism and other developmental delays: more similarities than differences. J Autism Dev Disord 42:863-73 |
| Saunders, Muriel D; Saunders, Richard R (2012) Teaching Individuals to Signal for Assistance in a Timely Manner. Behav Interv 27: |
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