Abstract
Special education teachers are often responsible for training their staff how to support children with autism spectrum disorder in their classrooms. In addition to academic and behavioral interventions, paraeducators also need to be prepared to support students with complex communication needs. This study was designed to investigate the effects of a paraeducator-implemented communication intervention in a public school. A multiple probe design across participants was used to evaluate a communication intervention that included providing opportunities to initiate with least-to-most prompting for a 10-year-old student with autism who used an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device. Prior to the intervention, the student was rarely observed initiating interactions with her AAC device, and paraeducators were rarely observed offering opportunities to initiate or providing supports to help the student initiate. Following training, data from each paraeducator indicated an increased rate when providing the communication intervention and as a result, the student displayed an increase in the targeted intervention, initiation. Findings from the intervention highlight the need for explicit teaching when promoting initiation among students with autism who use AAC.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
