Education With Children With Autism Acc Education Essay Example

children who receive early AAC instruction develop better oral and verbal communication skills compared to those who solely undergo speech therapy. The literature review and subsequent sections will examine relevant studies and writings on the topic to explore whether this statement holds true or not. Additionally, in order to fully comprehend the information presented in this paper, it is necessary to provide definitions of terms used throughout. These definitions are provided here to prevent any confusion throughout the rest of the text.Autism is a developmental disability that significantly affects the verbal and non-verbal social communication and interaction of children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This disorder is typically noticeable by the age of three and is classified as a childhood psychiatric disorder. Verbal communication skills are essential for language and communication at an expected level based on the individual's age and developmental capabilities.

AAC, which stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication, is often used as a precursor to verbal communication and language skills. It is commonly employed for children with autism or other cognitive disabilities that hinder their ability to acquire normal language at an early age. The main goal of using AAC is to improve speech, social functioning, verbal and nonverbal communication, social interaction, and recreational play in individuals with autism.

Students with autism have difficulties expressing themselves effectively despite understanding communication. These challenges can lead to behavioral problems such as aggression, isolation, conflicts. Therefore, it becomes crucial for these students to develop their communication skills in order to enhance their social abilities and reduce challenging behaviors. Without a reliable communication system in place, it becomes difficult to provide effective help for these children.The importance

of creating opportunities for preferences is emphasized in the text, as it states that restricting them can lead to difficult behaviors (Kern et al., 1998). It also highlights the objective of enhancing the communication system for autistic children, with speech being the most practical method (Bondy & Frost, 1994). Teaching speech skills has been found to result in improved progress. The text emphasizes the need for effort from both children and staff when teaching speech to autistic children. Additionally, it introduces Augmented and Alternative Communication (AAC) skills as a comprehensive approach to fostering communication. However, some parents have concerns about AAC hindering verbal communication development in autistic children. The aim of this study is to investigate and demonstrate that teaching AAC has a positive impact on increasing verbal communication skills in children with autism. The proposed survey focuses on how AAC can benefit these children, particularly examining if early intervention promotes better verbal communication skills compared to those who only receive speech and language training. This research could also have implications for children with other cognitive learning disabilities, but its main focus is on autism and its impact on speech delays.The results of examining the effectiveness of AAC in aiding autistic children's language acquisition or hindering their verbal communication skills can provide guidance for other researchers and address questions in this field. These insights are valuable to both researchers and educators. Educators can use this information to assist children in their learning process, while researchers can identify the need for further study. Chapter TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE reveals that although literature on autism and AAC is limited, there is enough information available to understand

the issues explored. Various methods are used to support children with autism and other learning disabilities by teaching alternative forms of communication instead of direct speech instruction. As children become more comfortable with these strategies, they naturally progress at their own pace towards verbal communication. Several studies indicate that annual instruction in AAC benefits autistic students who are falling behind their peers. One method involves teaching children to match images to objects on a communication board (Kozleski, 1991). By using objects, the child can make requests and ask for what they need (Kozleski, 1991). Dyches (1998) suggests using a nonintrusive motivating system to teach communication skills to children with autism.
Another AAC system, known as gestural language, can be used during meal times and other comfortable moments to educate children with autism, hard-of-hearing children, and those with disabilities (Venn et al., 1993). While it may not be suitable for all situations, it is essential for these children to have a means of communication. Sign language can fulfill this need and provide them with a sense of security and comfort throughout the day (McNaughton & Light, 1993).

AAC also plays a role in managing problematic behavior through functional communication training (Carr & Durand, 1985; Durand & Carr, 1991). Researchers have taught students how to control their challenging behavior by using symbols or signs instead of verbal expression. For instance, students have been trained to indicate their need for help by assigning the symbol for assistance (Horner & Day, 1991), or autistic children have learned to use a button instead of gestures when seeking assistance (Horner et al., 1990). Other studies have shown that autistic children can use gestures

to express their desire for a break or their need for an object (Bird et al., 1989; Durand & Kishi, 1987), which could facilitate their integration into mainstream classrooms.Moreover, research has demonstrated that students who undergo AAC training and learn how to interact with autistic children and other disabled peers have a tendency to exhibit greater tolerance in the classroom (Mirenda & Calculator, 1993). Some studies indicate that preparing individuals for AAC can greatly benefit autistic students; however, there are varying responses from teachers and varying levels of implementation (Agran & Alper 2000; Agran, Alper,& Wehmeyer 2002). While some still hold the belief that training unrelated to speech and oral communication skills is not advantageous for autistic children (Agran & Alper 2000), previous research has provided evidence contradicting this notion. The training offered by researchers has resulted in improvement among students. Nevertheless, there is little discussion on whether these children have developed communication skills and acquired language at a faster and more effortless pace compared to autistic children who have not received this type of training. With limited literature available in this area, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions at this stage. However, it remains important to recognize the need for further work and studies like the one described here will encourage additional investigation by researchers and educators. The methodology for Chapter THREE's survey will involve both children and parents. Parents will be asked to complete questionnaires and provide consent for their child's participation. This study focuses on teaching communication skills at an early age specifically targeting kindergarten and first-grade students.The researcher believes that slightly older children may be more manageable to work with

compared to preschool or younger children. This is because their parents may feel more comfortable with the study's objectives. In order to obtain more accurate results, it would be ideal to involve a larger number of children in the survey. However, the survey can still be conducted with as few as 10 participants. Ideally, having 20 or even 30 children would yield more accurate results. Due to the difficulty in finding a large number of autistic kids in a given school or schools in the local country who will allow analysis and changes to what specific students learn, only a small number of autistic kids are likely to be used for this research. This analysis is necessary in order to determine whether alternative communication training has an impact on each child's verbal communication abilities.

Measures or Instrumentality

This survey will utilize two steps to measure the effectiveness of alternative training in improving children's verbal skills. The first step evaluates any changes in the children's verbal skills at the conclusion of the survey. The second step measures how parents perceive these differences.The objective of the study is to determine if there has been a significant improvement in children's verbal communication abilities through alternative training, taking into account both the researcher's and parent's opinions. The survey aims to evaluate how instrumental studies are in enhancing children's verbal communication abilities. Parents will rely solely on these studies while teaching their children alternative methods of communication. To examine any differences, students will be divided into two groups: one learning alternative methods and the other learning the standard method. Their verbal communication abilities will be measured before and after the study

to assess progress and willingness to utilize these skills. It is also recognized that fostering an eagerness to communicate and asking for what they need is important for improving verbal expression. If children are hesitant to use these new skills, it may be challenging to determine if they have truly acquired them. The research design involves surveys administered to participating parents who provide insight on their child's expression of feelings and needs, as well as whether any other methods of communication were taught. Afterward, parents complete a questionnaire assessing any noticeable impact on children who were taught a different way of communicating.The parents will not know which children are receiving training, so their questionnaire responses will be unbiased regarding their child's learning outcomes.

Setting

Due to time and budget constraints, autistic students will receive training in their classroom with consent from parents, teacher, and school principal. Being in a familiar environment, students should feel comfortable and behave similarly to a typical day. This allows for behavior observation and discussion of relevant issues with the teacher that may impact study results.

Procedures and Data Analysis Procedures

The survey involves assessing parents' opinions and giving children a trial to evaluate verbalization abilities and willingness to communicate. Then, half of the children undergo alternate communication training while the other half continue with normal training. After retesting, parents are surveyed again to compare any significant differences between the two groups. Efforts are made to ensure balanced representation of both groups for fair comparison. Factors like pre-survey verbalization abilities are considered to avoid skewed or inaccurate results.The data collected from these studies and tests will be gathered and analyzed to determine the impact of

alternate training. The approach used for data analysis will be simple and unsophisticated. The test results before and after the alternate communication training will be separately examined for both groups. Through these trials, it will be determined if there was improvement in either group during the survey period. Parents' perceptions of any changes in their child's verbal skills will also be examined. Results from both students and parents' perceptions will then be compared to assess if parents who believed their child had improved in verbal skills were correct. However, it is important to acknowledge that this study has limitations, primarily its subjective nature. Both parents' opinions and researchers' opinions are subjective, which means there is a possibility that a group of students may perform well or not on a particular day regardless of actual improvement in verbal skills taking place or not. This study may unintentionally be influenced by certain children who are more inclined to talk on a specific day, and there is currently no way to prevent this due to time and funding limitations preventing a more precise and comprehensive study at the moment.Despite the challenge of finding autistic children willing to participate in studies due to the absence of a controlled environment, future research can expand on this study and explore a wider range of topics. Nevertheless, researchers commonly utilize the school setting as it allows easy access to a group of children whose parents have given consent for them to be included as study participants.