This Handbook represents the first comprehensive collection of research on communication and people with disabilities. The editors have brought together original contributions focusing on the identity, social, and relationship adjustments faced by people with disabilities and those with whom they relate. Essays report on topics across the communication spectrum--interpersonal and relationship issues, people with disabilities in organizational settings, disability and culture, media and technologies, communication issues as they impact specific types of disabilities--and establish a future agenda for communication and disability research. Each chapter provides a state-of-the-art literature review, practical applications of the material, and keywords and discussion questions to facilitate classroom use. In providing an outlet for current research on communication and disability issues, this unique collection contributes to the lives of people with and without disabilities, helping them to improve their own communication and relationships. Intended for readers in communication, psychology, sociology, rehabilitation, social work, special education, gerontology, and related disciplines, this handbook is certain to augment further theory and research, as well as offer insights for both personal and professional relationships.

"This interdisciplinary book critically examines the research on the effectiveness of communication interventions for individuals with severe disabilities. This volume provides the reader with a synthesis of the complex issues related to communication intervention and severe disabilities"--

Volume numbers determined from Scope of the guidelines, p. 12-13.

All of us depend on effective communication in order to be able to live our lives to the full. For people with learning disabilities, effective communication is especially important because they often rely on the support of others to live their lives. It is therefore essential that family members, carers, support workers and health and social care practitioners are able to communicate effectively with the individuals whom they support. That way, people with learning disabilities have the best possible chance of securing the rights, inclusion, choice and independence to which they, like anyone else, are entitled. This pack provides a wide-ranging training programme to cover the concepts and techniques which underpin and make possible effective communication with people with learning disabilities. The training programme comprises four sessions that can be delivered together as a day's training or, alternatively, as stand-alone sessions delivered over a series of team meetings or in-house training days. The pack sets out a Total Communication approach and training participants are introduced to an extensive selection of communication techniques that can be used in addition to the spoken word and adapted according to the communication skills of the individual in question. In this way, as well as having the opportunity to develop their communication skills, training participants are given a 'taster' of a range of communication concepts and techniques that can be used to facilitate effective communication with people with learning disabilities. Interactive activities and exercises allow participants to explore the various communication techniques and to discuss and reflect upon ways of incorporating them into their work. The pack provides a broad range of perspectives on communicating with people with learning disabilities and enables training participants to develop a deeper understanding of the communication challenges faced by individuals and the skills and techniques which can be used to overcome them.

Rhetorical Accessability is the first text to bring the fields of technical communication and disability studies into conversation. The two fields also share a pragmatic foundation in their concern with accommodation and accessibility, that is, the material practice of making social and technical environments and texts as readily available, easy to use, and/or understandable as possible to as many people as possible, including those with disabilities. Through its concern with the pragmatic, theoretically grounded work of helping users interface effectively and seamlessly with technologies, the field of technical communication is perfectly poised to put the theoretical work of disability studies into practice. In other words, technical communication could ideally be seen as a bridge between disability theories and web accessibility practices. While technical communicators are ideally positioned to solve communication problems and to determine the best delivery method, those same issues are compounded when they are viewed through the dual lens of accessibility and disability. With the increasing use of wireless, expanding global marketplaces, increasing prevalence of technology in our daily lives, and ongoing changes of writing through and with technology, technical communicators need to be acutely aware of issues involved with accessibility and disability. This collection will advance the field of technical communication by expanding the conceptual apparatus for understanding the intersections among disability studies, technical communication, and accessibility and by offering new perspectives, theories, and features that can only emerge when different fields are brought into conversation with one another and is the first text to bring the fields of technical communication and disability studies into conversation with one another.

This expanded edition gives readers practical strategies they can use to realize the benefits of effective communication: less frustration, more control over their lives, and stronger bonds with friends and family.