Alternative communication may include:
• direct movement of person or object to communicate (e.g.,
pulling a teacher to the door when the student wants to go
outside)
• using gestures or body actions to convey meaning (e.g., shaking
the head to express negativity)
• using real objects to convey messages (e.g., bringing a jacket to
ask to go home)
• using picture representations (e.g., the Picture Exchange System,
or PECS)
• using the voice without conventional words (e.g., saying “Ah-ahah”
to indicate need for the toilet)
• using written messages by pointing at already written ones, or by
writing (e.g., using a word processor to communicate)
• using sign language gestures from a conventional, non-verbal,
formal language (e.g., American Sign Language or Signed
English)
Deciding whether to implement an alternative or augmentative
communication system, and selecting the type of system, are both
decisions that should be made carefully and based on an assessment of
the learner’s level of cognitive ability, skills, interests, and motor abilities.
The spectrum of choices can be illustrated as a continuum:
highly abstract signing
◗ written sentences
◗ written phrases
◗ written words
◗ drawings
◗ photographs
◗ gestures
◗ miniature objects
concrete full-sized objects
Parents are key players in such decisions, as the communication
system should be used both at school and at home to be effective. The
school district speech and language pathologist (SLP) or another professional
in the area of autism and augmentative communication systems