Interprofessional education on autism and intellectual disabilities: Program description and initial evaluation.

Project INTERprofessional Autism Collaborative Training (INTERACT) is an interprofessional education program designed to prepare graduate students in psychology, special education, and speech-language pathology to work with autistic children with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities. The rising prevalence of autism, coupled with increased appreciation for interprofessional approaches to service delivery, indicates the need for university training programs to prepare graduate students to work interprofessionally with this population; yet descriptions of such programs and their effectiveness are not reported in the literature. In this article, we explain the process through which an interprofessional faculty team developed Project INTERACT, describe the sequence of coursework and team-based clinical experiences that comprise the program, and present preliminary data regarding its effectiveness. Twenty-four graduate students in psychology, special education, and speech-language pathology participated in this quantitative study. We report results from three rating scales that participants completed at program entry, midpoint, and program exit. Participants endorsed positive attitudes toward interprofessional practice and demonstrated high levels of knowledge about autism. Self-rated knowledge and abilities in interprofessional practice increased significantly by program exit. Project INTERACT scholars developed knowledge and skills related to understanding, assessing, and treating autistic children with intellectual disabilities, through the lens of team-based interprofessional collaboration. We discuss implications for practice with Project INTERACT. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Continua of Support: A New Direction in the Identity-First/People-First Language Debate.

PURPOSE: This letter expresses the opinion that identity-first language and perspectives in care are essential. It argues that all individuals' support needs should be conceptualized along continua. One such continua is support for communication. It suggests that decisions to receive supports should be left to the individual and, when necessary, invested others who can share potential benefits and costs of support/no-support decisions. Dialogue on this important issue is recommended.

Identity-Focused Practice in Augmentative and Alternative Communication Services: A Framework to Support the Intersecting Identities of Individuals With Severe Disabilities.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this clinical focus article is to consider a framework of identity in provision of services to individuals with severe disabilities who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). METHOD: Components of the framework for identity include personal, social, and cultural areas. These aspects are identified in extant literature on AAC services and discussed through the lens of the Communication Bill of Rights (National Joint Committee for the Communication Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities in 1992). Identity-focused practice is discussed as being relevant to self-determination and quality of life among individuals with severe disabilities. RESULTS: A case study illustrates identity-focused practice in delivery of services to an adolescent who uses AAC, considering personal, social, and cultural identities. CONCLUSIONS: This clinical focus article proposes a theoretical framework and provides a practice example for addressing the intersecting identities of individuals with severe disabilities. Furthermore, this clinical focus article argues that identity is a basic human right and area in which additional efforts are needed in the application of AAC solutions.

Addressing the Communication and Other Needs of Persons With Severe Disabilities Through Engaged Interprofessional Teams: Introduction to a Clinical Forum.

PURPOSE: Interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) is introduced as a viable and preferred clinical methodology for speech-language pathologists and others serving persons with severe disabilities. Contributions to this clinical forum dedicated to IPCP and severe disabilities are described. METHOD: This clinical focus article introduces IPCP and reviews literature specific to its origins and effectiveness, defines severe disabilities, and proposes IPCP as a vital tenet in effective communication-related and other service delivery for this population. CONCLUSION: IPCP is supported as a recommended practice methodology for speech-language pathologists and other team members providing services to persons with severe disabilities.

Cotreatment as a Vehicle for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice: Physical Therapists and Speech-Language Pathologists Collaborating in the Care of Children With Severe Disabilities.

PURPOSE: This article defines interprofessional collaborative practice and links its key features with accepted practice conceptualizations of physical therapy. Cotreatment with speech-language pathology is described as a vehicle for interprofessional collaborative practice for children with severe disabilities. METHOD: The article reviews the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (WHO, 2015) and the Hypothesis-Oriented Algorithm for Clinicians II (Rothstein, Echternach, & Riddle, 2003) as existing service-delivery frameworks in physical therapy and discusses how interprofessional collaborative practice between speech-language pathologists and physical therapists can be useful within these practice guidelines. RESULTS: A case illustration featuring interprofessional collaborative practice during cotreatment for a child with severe disabilities through physical therapy and speech-language pathology showed more seamless care and better progress in the pursuit of three main goals: physical movement, communication of needs, and participation in classroom activities. CONCLUSIONS: Interprofessional collaborative practice is supported as a recommended practice methodology for physical therapists and speech-language pathologists serving persons with severe disabilities.

Mary's Case: An Illustration of Interprofessional Collaborative Practice for a Child With Severe Disabilities.

PURPOSE: The principles of interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) are illustrated through the case of Mary, a child with severe disabilities. METHOD: Mary's experiences from early childhood to young adulthood are highlighted by both optimal and less-than-ideal examples of clinical services and collaborative practice. The range of collaboration illustrates potential variations in service delivery. Thematic comments and resources are provided by professionals experienced with and committed to IPCP who represent the following four disciplines: occupational therapy, physical therapy, special education, and speech-language pathology. CONCLUSIONS: Although potentially challenging, IPCP is a dynamic practice methodology appropriate for speech-language pathologists and others serving persons with severe disabilities.

Understanding the brain-behaviour relationship in persons with ASD: implications for PECS as a treatment choice.

INTRODUCTION: This article presents emerging neurological findings in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) with particular attention to how this information might inform treatment practices addressing communication impairments. METHODS: The article begins with a general discussion of the brain-behaviour relationship and moves to the presentation of recent research findings related to ASD. There is particular attention to individuals with autism who are either non-verbal or present emergent verbal abilities. RESULTS/DISCUSSION: A specific communication treatment, the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), is presented as an example of an intervention that addresses the learner needs of many individuals with ASD. The success of PECS is discussed within the context of its fit with brain-based learner characteristics.

Twenty years of communication intervention research with individuals who have severe intellectual and developmental disabilities.

This literature review was conducted to evaluate the current state of evidence supporting communication interventions for individuals with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities. We reviewed 116 articles published between 1987 and 2007 in refereed journals meeting three criteria: (a) described a communication intervention, (b) involved one or more participants with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities, and (c) addressed one or more areas of communication performance. Many researchers failed to report treatment fidelity or to assess basic aspects of intervention effects, including generalization, maintenance, and social validity. The evidence reviewed indicates that 96% of the studies reported positive changes in some aspects of communication. These findings support the provision of communication intervention to persons with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities. Gaps in the research were reported as were recommendations for future research.

Communication-based services for persons with severe disabilities in schools: a survey of speech-language pathologists.

UNLABELLED: Speech-language pathologists in school settings were surveyed with an instrument created from the National Joint Committee for the Communication Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities' quality indicators self-assessment tool. Participants valued practice indicators of quality communication assessment and intervention to a higher degree than their actual practice. These findings appear to suggest that SLPs may not provide best practice services to individuals with severe disabilities. Suggestions for enhancing inservice training and intervention practices of SLPs and team members who work with individuals with severe disabilities are provided. LEARNING OUTCOMES: The reader will be able to; (1) understand the value of using the NJC quality indicators to guide SLP practices with individuals with severe disabilities in schools; (2) recognize that research indicates that SLPs working with individuals with severe disabilities in schools may not provide best practice services to the extent that they value these practices; (3) discuss possible strategies to increase the quality of services provided to individuals with severe disabilities in schools.

Graduate students with marginal abilities in communication sciences and disorders: prevalence, profiles, and solutions.

UNLABELLED: This paper addresses the special challenges encountered when working with graduate students whose academic and/or clinical performance is marginal or less than satisfactory. From a variety of perspectives including instructional, professional, financial, ethical, and legal, among others, working effectively with marginal students deserves serious and systematic consideration. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a national survey that explore the prevalence, profiles, and documented impact of marginal students on professional training programs in speech-language pathology and audiology. Current strategies for prevention and intervention, factors inhibiting implementation of such strategies, and implications for the student and the program are discussed. LEARNING OUTCOMES: (1) To learn the prevalence, profiles, and documented impact of marginal students on professional preparation programs in communication sciences and disorders. (2) To become familiar with current strategies for prevention and intervention with marginal students, factors inhibiting implementation of such strategies, and implications for the student and the program. (3) To understand professional preparation as a system of academic, clinical, and supervisory instruction, including evaluation and due process; namely, a student's right, a program's responsibility. (4) To identify critical questions generated by this study that must be addressed by the professions and individual programs.