Manual signs are used worldwide to support the communication and language development of children who have developmental disabilities. This book provides an overview of forty years of research and practice by recognised experts, from a developmental perspective. Uniquely, the book includes contributions on both sign languages and sign systems, linking the two fields of Deaf studies and Augmentative and Alternative Communication which have historically been seen as separate. This text is the most authoritative single text to date on the topic, providing an invaluable resource for speech pathologists, researchers, psychologists and educators. The main sections of the book include: the typical development of sign language and of gesture; literature reviews on sign acquisition in children with disabilities such as Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorders, Llandau Kleffner syndrome and deaf blindness. An important chapter deals with the latest research on sign language impairments in deaf children with developmental language difficulties, or autism spectrum disorders. The third section of the book addresses assessment and intervention, covering vocabulary, sign production difficulties and intelligibility, grammar and multi-signing, and pragmatics and discourse skills. The final two sections are concerned with use of signs in context: in the home, in school, and in different cultures. Throughout, care is taken to ensure that the voices of users are present and vivid, whether these be family members, teaching staff or the children themselves, with an entire chapter given over to an interview with a young adult's reflections on her use of sign since childhood. The book concludes with a call for a multimodal perspective on augmentative communication to be adopted in the future.

Simplified Signs presents a system of manual sign communication intended for special populations who have had limited success mastering spoken or full sign languages. It is the culmination of over twenty years of research and development by the authors. The Simplified Sign System has been developed and tested for ease of sign comprehension, memorization, and formation by limiting the complexity of the motor skills required to form each sign, and by ensuring that each sign visually resembles the meaning it conveys. Volume 1 outlines the research underpinning and informing the project, and places the Simplified Sign System in a wider context of sign usage, historically and by different populations. Volume 2 presents the lexicon of signs, totalling approximately 1000 signs, each with a clear illustration and a written description of how the sign is formed, as well as a memory aid that connects the sign visually to the meaning that it conveys. While the Simplified Sign System originally was developed to meet the needs of persons with intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, autism, or aphasia, it may also assist the communication needs of a wider audience – such as healthcare professionals, aid workers, military personnel , travellers or parents, and children who have not yet mastered spoken language. The system also has been shown to enhance learning for individuals studying a foreign language. Lucid and comprehensive, this work constitutes a valuable resource that will enhance the communicative interactions of many different people, and will be of great interest to researchers and educators alike.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Models and Applications, Second Edition describes augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) comprehensively and offers a framework for understanding how AAC intervention can be used in the process of communication. This textbook is intended to serve as the primary text for graduate-level courses in augmentative and alternative communication in speech-language pathology programs. It also serves as an essential resource for practicing clinicians. AAC is used by an ever-growing group of individuals of all ages, each with their own personal and communication needs. The book presents the various AAC interventions and teaches the prospective clinician which intervention may be effective depending on the needs, condition, and prognosis of the client. The text details how communication is shaped by internal and external factors and how communication affects social functioning. New to the Second Edition: * A revised introductory chapter reflecting recent changes in the field * Thoroughly updated chapters on technology, vocabulary, and assessment * Reorganization of the chapters for a more natural flow of information * New and revised artwork throughout including images, tables, and charts * New and expanded case studies covering different types of communicators, their needs, and AAC solutions Expanded coverage on the following topics: * The debate on core vocabulary and discussion of best practices * Perspectives and views from AAC users * Ethics in AAC service delivery * Research issues

How children acquire a sign language and the stages of sign language development are extremely important topics in sign linguistics and deaf education, with studies in this field enabling assessment of an individual child’s communicative skills in comparison to others. In order to do research in this area it is important to use the right methodological tools. The contributions to this volume address issues covering the basics of doing sign acquisition research, the use of assessment tools, problems of transcription, analyzing narratives and carrying out interaction studies. It serves as an ideal reference source for any researcher or student of sign languages who is planning to do such work. This volume was originally published as a Special Issue of Sign Language & Linguistics 8:1/2 (2005)

Brain disordersâ€"neurological, psychiatric, and developmentalâ€"now affect at least 250 million people in the developing world, and this number is expected to rise as life expectancy increases. Yet public and private health systems in developing countries have paid relatively little attention to brain disorders. The negative attitudes, prejudice, and stigma that often surround many of these disorders have contributed to this neglect. Lacking proper diagnosis and treatment, millions of individual lives are lost to disability and death. Such conditions exact both personal and economic costs on families, communities, and nations. The report describes the causes and risk factors associated with brain disorders. It focuses on six representative brain disorders that are prevalent in developing countries: developmental disabilities, epilepsy, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and stroke. The report makes detailed recommendations of ways to reduce the toll exacted by these six disorders. In broader strokes, the report also proposes six major strategies toward reducing the overall burden of brain disorders in the developing world.

A definitive textbook for students in speech-language pathology, audiology, and communication sciences and disorders, Principles and Practices in Augmentative and Alternative Communication offers students an introduction to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and prepares them for working with clients with complex communication needs. Editors Drs. Donald R. Fuller and Lyle L. Lloyd and their contributors provide a foundation for the development of assessment and intervention procedures and practices within the framework of the communication model and its major components: the means to represent, the means to select, and the means to transmit. Principles and Practices in Augmentative and Alternative Communication consists of five major units: An introduction to AAC, from its history to current practice An overview of AAC symbols and a comprehensive discussion of aided and unaided symbols A review of AAC technology The components of AAC assessment: principles, vocabulary, symbol selection, and the prescription of AAC technology AAC intervention: everything from the components of the intervention process to examples from specific cases and settings Included with the text are online supplemental materials for faculty use in the classroom. Students and professionals looking for a foundational textbook in the field of AAC will find Principles and Practices in Augmentative and Alternative Communication to be effective, contemporary, and practical.

This handbook examines the wide-ranging applications of positive psychology in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities. It discusses the change in perceptions of disability and the shifting use of traditional deficit-based treatments. It presents evidence-based approaches and strategies that promote individuals’ strengths and capacities and as well as provide supports and services to enhance quality of life. Chapters address medical and psychological aspects in intellectual and developmental disabilities, such as mindfulness, motivation, physical well-being, and self-regulation. The book also discusses uses of assessment practices in evaluating interventions and client outcomes. In addition, it explores ways practitioners, with positive psychology, can focus on what a person is capable of achieving, thereby leading to more effective approaches to care and treatment. Topics featured in the Handbook include: Translating the quality of life concept into practice. The Casual Agency Theory and its implications for understanding self-determination. The Mindfulness-Based Individualized Support Plan (MBISP) and its use in providing support to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The unique role that friendship plays to people’s lives and social well-being. Supported Decision-Making (SDM) as an alternative to guardianship. A positive psychology approach to aging and retirement. The Handbook of Positive Psychology in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities is a must-have resource for researchers, professors, and graduate students as well as clinicians and related professionals in clinical child and school psychology, behavioral therapy, social work, applied behavioral analysis, recreational therapy, occupational therapy, education, speech and language pathology, psychiatry, clinical medicine, and nursing.