IMPact
IMpact was written by this site's author at the end of the 1990s. It was an attempt to put all my knowledge of AAC into one work so that I could share what i had sicovered on my journey with others. Although, at the time, it was available to purchase, I now present it here for free. Sad though I am to say it, but little has changed in the past ten years: yes we have more and more sophisticated AAC systems but the working practices of some establishments leave a lot to be desired.
Independence comprises three areas: Communication, Mobility, and Cognition. With the loss of any one area a person can not truly be said to be independent. Education should focus on these areas according to the needs of its student body. (Augmentative) Communication often takes a back seat to the cognitive aspect of the curriculum (which includes the National Curriculum) when, in fact, it should be given equal priority with the two other areas and perhaps, in some special cases, should be given top billing.
IMPact stands for IMPlementing Augmentative Communication. This this section of the website is a resource pack for the training of staff in implementing AAC. It does NOT attempt to:
- explain the various forms of AAC (Bliss, Makaton, Minspeak, etc.);
- explain which system is best suited for any particular individual;
- attempt to include every issue in the implementation of AAC.
It is assumed that the school, college or other, is already aware of , at least, some of the various AAC systems and is able to obtain specialist advice and assessment severcies (from a speech professional). The recommended readings and materials will provide information and guidance for these, and other, areas not covered by this work. If you are unfamiliar with the general field of AAC you are strongly urged to read this material.
Independence comprises three areas: Communication, Mobility, and Cognition. With the loss of any one area a person can not truly be said to be independent. Education should focus on these areas according to the needs of its student body. (Augmentative) Communication often takes a back seat to the cognitive aspect of the curriculum (which includes the National Curriculum) when, in fact, it should be given equal priority with the two other areas and perhaps, in some special cases, should be given top billing.
IMPact stands for IMPlementing Augmentative Communication. This this section of the website is a resource pack for the training of staff in implementing AAC. It does NOT attempt to:
- explain the various forms of AAC (Bliss, Makaton, Minspeak, etc.);
- explain which system is best suited for any particular individual;
- attempt to include every issue in the implementation of AAC.
It is assumed that the school, college or other, is already aware of , at least, some of the various AAC systems and is able to obtain specialist advice and assessment severcies (from a speech professional). The recommended readings and materials will provide information and guidance for these, and other, areas not covered by this work. If you are unfamiliar with the general field of AAC you are strongly urged to read this material.
Where did it all go wrong?
The field of AAC is growing rapidly. There are a plethora of systems in the marketplace and undoubtedly there are more waiting to enter. Today=s issue is one of implementation. It is usually through incorrect or poor implementation practices that systems fail. However, the blame for failure in acquiring new AAC skills is often directed at:
- the person using the system (He=s not motivated. She=s just lazy.
They=ve got learning difficulties.);
- the system itself (The device is too cumbersome. It is always breaking down.
It is unintelligible.);
- the language encoding system used (Nobody understands those squiggles.
It=s just too difficult for him. She can=t remember all that lot.
It=s too complicated.... ).
This is rarely the case. If the person using the AAC system has been competently assessed by a qualified AAC professional and a system has been recommended on this basis, then, the reason for any subsequent failure is likely to lay in poor implementation strategies. It is easier to place the blame anywhere but at our own feet. We must examine our working practices to see what can and what must be changed if we want to help people become efficient and effective users of AAC.
I have spent a great deal of time >shadowing= individuals throughout typical days in schools, in colleges and elsewhere. This involved observation only: I operated a strict non-interference policy. Afterwards, I wrote a constructive report on the day=s observations which often ran into tens of pages. The one thing that I noted, time and time, again is the number of opportunities for the development of augmentative communication that were missed.
"I took the cap, which was missing a price tag, to the register. The clerk said he was sure it cost $45, but he couldn't ring it up
without a tag. In a couple of moments, he caught the eye of a fellow employee, whom he asked to check the price. She retraced
my steps to the hat table, found nothing, and came back a moment or two later, claiming she=d contacted a manager to sort
things out. Another three or four minutes passed. Nothing happened. I left. It=s not the shoddy service that got my goat.
It=s the missed opportunity." (PETERS T. 1994 pp. 78 - 79)
- the person using the system (He=s not motivated. She=s just lazy.
They=ve got learning difficulties.);
- the system itself (The device is too cumbersome. It is always breaking down.
It is unintelligible.);
- the language encoding system used (Nobody understands those squiggles.
It=s just too difficult for him. She can=t remember all that lot.
It=s too complicated.... ).
This is rarely the case. If the person using the AAC system has been competently assessed by a qualified AAC professional and a system has been recommended on this basis, then, the reason for any subsequent failure is likely to lay in poor implementation strategies. It is easier to place the blame anywhere but at our own feet. We must examine our working practices to see what can and what must be changed if we want to help people become efficient and effective users of AAC.
I have spent a great deal of time >shadowing= individuals throughout typical days in schools, in colleges and elsewhere. This involved observation only: I operated a strict non-interference policy. Afterwards, I wrote a constructive report on the day=s observations which often ran into tens of pages. The one thing that I noted, time and time, again is the number of opportunities for the development of augmentative communication that were missed.
"I took the cap, which was missing a price tag, to the register. The clerk said he was sure it cost $45, but he couldn't ring it up
without a tag. In a couple of moments, he caught the eye of a fellow employee, whom he asked to check the price. She retraced
my steps to the hat table, found nothing, and came back a moment or two later, claiming she=d contacted a manager to sort
things out. Another three or four minutes passed. Nothing happened. I left. It=s not the shoddy service that got my goat.
It=s the missed opportunity." (PETERS T. 1994 pp. 78 - 79)
Introduction
"A handicapped child represents a qualitatively different, unique type of development.... If a blind or deaf child achieves the same level of development as a normal child, then the child with a defect achieves this in another way, by another course, by other means; and, for the pedagogue, it is particularly important to know the uniqueness of the course along which he must lead the child. This uniqueness transforms the minus of the handicap into the plus of compensation." (VYGOTSKY L. S. 1993)
Introduction 1: He who is silent
The proverb on the overhead is profound. It makes the point that silence is not golden and that people who are unable to communicate are often dominated by those who can talk. People with physical disability and severe speech impairment may easily become passive unless their environment is structured to enable them to be active:
Speech is power in our society. Hence, it should surprise no one that freedom of speech is the first right guaranteed to all Americans in the Bill of Rights. Deprived of speech or another means of effective communication, individuals become invisible. They are simply not heard. They are silenced. And, when people are silenced, others quickly lose sight of their right to be a part of humanity! (BRYEN D. 1993)
"In the English speaking culture ......, a high value is placed on talking. Indeed, the more one talks, the more one is viewed as a
desirable and an active conversational partner. In contrast, individuals who talk very little are often viewed as withdrawn and less
competent, making their making their partners feel uncomfortable." (HOAG L., BEDROSIAN J., JOHNSON D., MOLINEUX B. 1994)
Introduction 2: New Beginnings
The point the cartoon tries to make is that the father has understood the child. The child is crying and therefore communicating. Dad is reacting to this. It is extremely rare for someone to be completely unable to communicate by (at the very least) body language or facial expression, etc:
"They are all too often defined by what they cannot do and language problem are often listed among their deficits. However,
I have yet to meet a child who does not communicate in some way." (KNIGHT C. 1992)
"Babies no older than an hour of age communicate - perhaps not intentionally, though try telling that to most parents of new infants,
and you'll run into an argument - but certainly, they are doing things that we recognise as communicative and that cause us to act
as though we are being communicated to. Thus, we realize that everyone can communicate, and, in fact, everyone does
communicate in some way, somehow, if there is something important to say. In other words, communication is neither a right
nor something that has to be learned - it is an inevitability: people cannot not communicate."
(WATZLAWICK P., BEAVIN J., & JACKSON D. 1967).
"... communication has only one prerequisite ... breathing is the only prerequisite that is relevant to communication."
(MIRENDA P. 1993 page 4)
A further issue brought out by the cartoon is that the unhappy child is not going to be a good student of AAC. People who are homesick, uncomfortable, frightened, etc, do not make good learners. This point is reinforced in Intro 3.
The quote from Christy Brown (BROWN C. 1954) makes the point that communication, although taken for granted by the majority of people, is a major factor in our lives. Communication is fundamental. It is a basic human activity.
The overhead also introduces the school we are going to visit: Incommunicado High. Be warned. They do things a little differently here!
"They are all too often defined by what they cannot do and language problem are often listed among their deficits. However,
I have yet to meet a child who does not communicate in some way." (KNIGHT C. 1992)
"Babies no older than an hour of age communicate - perhaps not intentionally, though try telling that to most parents of new infants,
and you'll run into an argument - but certainly, they are doing things that we recognise as communicative and that cause us to act
as though we are being communicated to. Thus, we realize that everyone can communicate, and, in fact, everyone does
communicate in some way, somehow, if there is something important to say. In other words, communication is neither a right
nor something that has to be learned - it is an inevitability: people cannot not communicate."
(WATZLAWICK P., BEAVIN J., & JACKSON D. 1967).
"... communication has only one prerequisite ... breathing is the only prerequisite that is relevant to communication."
(MIRENDA P. 1993 page 4)
A further issue brought out by the cartoon is that the unhappy child is not going to be a good student of AAC. People who are homesick, uncomfortable, frightened, etc, do not make good learners. This point is reinforced in Intro 3.
The quote from Christy Brown (BROWN C. 1954) makes the point that communication, although taken for granted by the majority of people, is a major factor in our lives. Communication is fundamental. It is a basic human activity.
The overhead also introduces the school we are going to visit: Incommunicado High. Be warned. They do things a little differently here!
Introduction 3: Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs
Although first developed in the 1950s, Maslow’s (MASLOW A. H. 1954) hierarchy of needs is as relevant as ever. Simply put, it states that, to help people to learn (self-actualization) other needs must be met. These include the physiological needs such as food, warmth, and shelter. The physiological needs of the person with a disability will also encompass comfort (try sitting in the same position strapped into a moulded chair for more than a few minutes) and physical support of the body. Accessibility of the system or of switches may also be a problem. A scanning user may need a great deal of preparation for switch use before the introduction of an AAC system (See the chapter on people who use switches). The visual, perceptual, and auditory aspects of the system should be considered.
The learner needs to feel safe, secure, and unthreatened. A speech impairment, even with intact internal language, may seriously threaten an individual's growing definition of self:
Where a child fails to develop adequate language, he or she will miss out on this aspect of self-definition. And even with language intact but limited speech, the ability to negotiate with others verbally, to stake one’s claim to attributes that others are ignoring, or to deny an attribution that seems unfair, for example, means that the elaboration of self-concepts is impeded. By secondary school age, fifteen such children were assessed as having:
"Poor self-/other-awareness,
Poor self-esteem/self-confidence,
Fear of failure,
Disruptive behaviour,
Inability to appreciate linguistic aspects of humour,
Avoidance of social situations,
Difficulty expressing emotions in socially acceptable ways,
Few friendships - low appreciation of what a friend is or of how to go about making friendships"
(DALTON P. 1994 page 3 citing RINALDI W. 1991)
New and sophisticated electronic devices may provide an additional threat to the individual especially when the initial expectation is set too high. A child in a new school, working with a new system, will need time to adjust and to feel secure, before tuition in the AAC system is likely to progress. Not only may new and sophisticated technology threaten a user but it may threaten significant others too. It may be perceived by some as drawing attention to an individual's disability. Technology which is seen as threatening may be rejected or not fully used. Training is therefore essential. The statements at the bottom of INTRO 3 are strongly worded but should be addressed. To implement AAC successfully, it may be necessary to alter radically the way we interact with users. This point is made again in the next OHP. Is it worth it? Ask a person who is a competent user of any AAC system.
The learner needs to feel safe, secure, and unthreatened. A speech impairment, even with intact internal language, may seriously threaten an individual's growing definition of self:
Where a child fails to develop adequate language, he or she will miss out on this aspect of self-definition. And even with language intact but limited speech, the ability to negotiate with others verbally, to stake one’s claim to attributes that others are ignoring, or to deny an attribution that seems unfair, for example, means that the elaboration of self-concepts is impeded. By secondary school age, fifteen such children were assessed as having:
"Poor self-/other-awareness,
Poor self-esteem/self-confidence,
Fear of failure,
Disruptive behaviour,
Inability to appreciate linguistic aspects of humour,
Avoidance of social situations,
Difficulty expressing emotions in socially acceptable ways,
Few friendships - low appreciation of what a friend is or of how to go about making friendships"
(DALTON P. 1994 page 3 citing RINALDI W. 1991)
New and sophisticated electronic devices may provide an additional threat to the individual especially when the initial expectation is set too high. A child in a new school, working with a new system, will need time to adjust and to feel secure, before tuition in the AAC system is likely to progress. Not only may new and sophisticated technology threaten a user but it may threaten significant others too. It may be perceived by some as drawing attention to an individual's disability. Technology which is seen as threatening may be rejected or not fully used. Training is therefore essential. The statements at the bottom of INTRO 3 are strongly worded but should be addressed. To implement AAC successfully, it may be necessary to alter radically the way we interact with users. This point is made again in the next OHP. Is it worth it? Ask a person who is a competent user of any AAC system.
Introduction 4: Philosophy
"Language is often undervalued because it is not a curriculum subject. This situation worsens as the child moves to secondary
education where there is a great deal of subject compartmentalisation. Each subject in the curriculum is thought to be a group of
skills that can be taught apart from language." (BEVERIDGE M. & CONTI-RAMSDEN G. 1987)
The cartoon restates the point that the implementation of AAC can not be taken lightly. It requires commitment and will likely require some change. Changes in attitude, in ethos, in philosophy, in working practices and routine, and in the curriculum, may all be necessary. Providing more of the same (curriculum) without embracing the need for some change may not create a situation in which language and communication skills can be nurtured:
"You can't always get an entirely new function out of a device by adding more of the same parts. To take a crude example,
you can't get your car to fly by adding more cylinders to the engine" (JACKENDOFF R. 1993 page 5)
While attitude change towards an individual will likely occur as a result of an increase in communicative ability this change in attitudes may be a necessary precursor to the development of communicative abilities in many users:
"The former do not deny that attitude change happens as a result of increased fluency, but they see no need for the clinician to do
anything about it." (DALTON P. 1994 page 68)
There is one constant in life and that constant is ..... change. Not all change is for the better and so, if change is inevitable, staff should work to ensure that it will benefit those people for whom AAC is intended.
No learning takes place in a vacuum. Learning is an integral part of the social reality that is the user=s world. We cannot be successful teachers of communication skills in an environment that negates the goals that have been set at every turn. Therefore, it is essential to make ready the >theatre of operations= in which the battle is to commence. This will likely include:
- preparing the user;
- preparing Significant Others
- planning how to work within the structure set by the curriculum;
- analysing establishment and individual philosophies and getting agreement to work with change.
The user who has learnt passivity in a situation where little is expected, which provides routinely for all daily needs and gives little, if any, real choice, can hardly be expected to develop initiation skills (passivity is dealt with separately below). It may only be by challenging the assumptions of establishment philosophy that an atmosphere in which communication is able to develop can be created.
Whatever one may think about the >visionary prophets of physical management', be they Temple Fay and the Doman Delacato Method, the Bobaths, or Peto, etc (See LEVITT S. 1982; SCOTSON L. 1985), one thing they should teach us is, with the right atmosphere, a good deal of consistent team effort, a pinch of faith, and the right strategies (taking into account the needs of all), wonders can be achieved.
Ex nihilo nihil fit
(Out of nothing nothing comes)
It is time to ensure that the difficult work that lies ahead is not in vain. Language and communication skills are important:
"There is no pleasure to me without communication: there is not so much as a sprightly thought comes into my mind that it does
not grieve me to have produced alone, and that I have no one to tell it to." (DE MONTAIGNE M. 1588)
"Language most shews a man: Speak, that I may see thee." (BEN JONSON 1641)
"The limits of my language mean the limits of my world" (WITTGENSTEIN L. 1953)
"What has influenced my life more than any other single thing has been my stammer. Had I not stammered I would probably have
gone to Cambridge as my brothers did, perhaps have become a don and every now and then published a dreary book about French
literature." (W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM: Newsweek, New York, 23 May 1960).
"Lacking a language the child is crippled in mind and personality. He is condemned to an intellectual silence and an emotional
solitude too distressing to contemplate." (SHERIDAN M. 1964)
"It is through ... talk that children can best find out in exchange with one another what are their responses to an experience,
real or symbolic,and help one another to come to terms with it." (BARNES D. 1966)
"Sentences have a compelling power to control both thought and action." (BRUNER J. S. 1966)
"The child who puts into words what he is doing and what he is going to do increases his persistence and is better able to carry out
his plan." (BRITTON J. 1967, p. 12)
"Man does not speak because he thinks; he thinks because he speaks. Or rather, speaking is no different than thinking:
to speak is to think.." (OCTAVIO PAZ 1967)
"Language is a form of culturally determined behaviour and this behaviour includes the ability to take on a range of linguistically
defined roles in speech situations. Unless the child grows up in an environment in which all these speech situation roles are open
to him, he will fail to master important areas in the grammar of the language. Therefore, he must be given the opportunity to behave
linguistically in all the culturally determined roles which the language recognises: to ask and answer questions, to give and respond
to commands, to explain things, to express reservations, contradictions, contrasts; to vary the key of his utterances; to explore, in
other words, a full range of linguistic relations with his interlocutors." (HALLIDAY M. 1968)
"The communication difficulty may finally prove to be the greatest disability of all in cerebral palsied people. Without adequate
communication social life, even at a most elementary level, is impossible. But with adequate communication the effects of even a
very severe physical handicap can be alleviated very greatly in many ways. We realise that many cerebral palsied people may never
speak intelligibly. But, provided they have the knowledge of language and understanding, there is always the possibility of being
able to communicate back by some kind of technical device ... We hope that ... eventually we will be able to produce a speaking
machine, which could be easily operated by a cerebral palsied person and so make it possible to discover whether a cerebral
palsied child has a hearing difficulty or not. The discovery of a hearing loss in good time may enable him to learn the knowledge of
language and understanding so, even if not able to speak, he may be able to communicate back by some technical device.
This itself will influence his whole future life ." (FISCH L. 1969)
"The whole structure of the mental life of both twins was simultaneously and sharply changed. Once they acquired an objective
language system, the children were able to formulate the aims of their activity verbally and after only three months we observed
the beginnings of meaningful play " (LURIA A. & YUDOVICH F. 1971)
"Through language he makes the present comprehensible, the past available, the future conceivable." (CREBER P. 1972)
"Pray for the Mute who have no word to say.=
Cried the one old gentleman, Not because they are dumb,
But they are weak. And the weak thoughts beating in the brain
Generate a sort of heat, yet cannot speak.
Thoughts that are bound without sound
In the tomb of the brain's room, wound. Pray for the Mute." (SMITH S. 1975)
"Learning to communicate is at the heart of education" (BARNES D. 1976)
"No one in this day and age can possibly underestimate the importance of language. We are surrounded by talking."
(JEFFREE D. & McCONKEY R. 1976)
"Conversational ability plays a crucial role in the conduct of an individual=s personal and social lives."
(HIGGINBOTHAM D. & YODER D. 1982)
"Cerebral palsied children have a multiplicity of problems: depending on the extent of their brain damage, there may be intellectual
deficit and sensory loss in addition to motor disability. These together with psychosocial factors will influence communicative ability.
Maximum development of a child's communication should be the principal goal for everyone concerned." (COOMBES K. 1986)
"Speech is the most important thing we have. It makes us a person and not a thing. No one should ever have to be a thing."
(JOSEPH D. 1986 page 8)
"The ability to communicate, that is, to interact socially and to make needs and wants known, is central to the determination of an
individual's quality of life. The power of communication is especially important for the severely handicapped .... these individuals
face a lifetime of substantial, if not total dependence on others; hence, their ability to communicate and establish some control
over their environment must be recognized as a priority in their programming." (LIGHT J., McNAUGHTON D., & PARNES P. 1986)
"Furthermore, language becomes the most important medium not only of expressing thoughts but also of the formation and
organisation of the child's knowledge" (BEVERIDGE M. & CONTI-RAMSDEN G. 1987)
"In addition, it is thought that language interacts with the child's learning and ability to cope with the demands of the classroom.
Thus those children with language difficulties do not have a discrete, contained problem. They have a problem which affects their
whole school career." (BEVERIDGE M. & CONTI-RAMSDEN G. 1987)
"I can't tell you how it feels when there is something important to talk about and no way they can understand you ... you try harder
and it gets worse. You end up not saying anything." (SMITH-LEWIS M. & FORD A. 1987)
"Helen Keller accomplished many of the goals she set for herself, but one of her most cherished dreams was forever unrealized:
despite enormous effort, she never learned to speak clearly." (WEPMAN D. 1987 page 57)
(For other works on Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy see - KELLER H. 1903; KELLER H. 1908; KELLER H. 1913; KELLER H. & MACY A. S. 1913; KELLER H. 1927; KELLER H. 1929; KELLER H. 1938; ROSS I. 1951; KELLER H. 1955; BROOKS V. W. 1956; WHITE H. 1959; HARRITY R. & MARTIN R. 1962; DAVIDSON M. 1965; KELLER H. 1972; LASH J. 1980)
"If you want to know what it is like to be unable to speak, there is a way. Go to a party and don't talk. Play mute. Use your hands
if you wish but don't use paper and pencil. Paper and pencil are not always handy for a mute person. Here is what you will find:
people talking; talking behind, beside, around, over, under, through, and even for you. But never with you. You are ignored until
finally you feel like a piece of furniture." (Rick Creech quoted in MUSSELWHITE C. & ST. LOUIS K. 1988 page 104)
"The mothers of J. S., S. B. and J. B., and B. V. often commented that these children were demonstrating more communicative
responsiveness, less frustration, and smoother interchanges with them since they had acquired a Away to express themselves."
(KOURI T. 1988)
"And to be defective in language, for a human being, is one of the most desperate of calamities, for it is only through language that
we enter fully into our human estate and culture, communicate freely with our fellows, acquire and share information. If we cannot
do this, we will be bizarrely disabled and cut off - whatever our desires, or endeavours, or native capacities. And indeed, we may be
so little able to realize our intellectual capacities as to appear mentally defective." (SACKS O. 1989)
"The corollary to all of this is that if communication goes awry, it will affect intellectual growth, social intercourse, language
development, and emotional attitudes, all at once, simultaneously and inseparably." (SACKS O. 1989)
"My basic problem was one I've encountered through my whole life. When you can't talk, and people believe that your mind is as
handicapped as your body, it's awfully difficult to change their opinion." (SIENKIEWICZ‑MERCER R. & KAPLAN S. B. 1989)
"To fully participate in an educational environment, an individual must have the tools to interact. Oral communication which is now
possible through the development of voice output communication aids, will only enhance the involvement and participation of AAC
communicators in the classroom. Every child should have the tools necessary to help him maximize his talents and to benefit from
educational opportunities." (MARCH J. 1990 page 96)
"Freedom of speech, an inalienable right upon which our country was founded. Why is it that so many individuals are denied this
right because they have no access to augmentative communication? I firmly believe it is the responsibility of all of us -- parents,
professionals and consumers of AAC to ensure freedom of speech for all who are denied it because of their physical limitation.
Daniel Webster said 'If my possessions were taken from me with one exception, I would choose to keep the power of
communication, for by it, I would soon regain all the rest.' The advancements in technology and voice-output augmentative devices
has allowed many more individuals to keep the 'power of communication', but not without a struggle. Barriers such as lack of
awareness, limited or no funding, minimal training and support have kept many more speechless. In some instances, families are
discouraged to push for augmentative communication because they are told their child will never talk if they 'give in', or that young
children don't need or can't use the technology. Why is this? A child needs a great deal of support to realize their potential and we
can't assume their capacity without giving them the necessary skills to succeed. (MARCH J. 1991 page 3)
"A communication handicap is quite different from other handicaps. It affects the manner in which you relate to other people and
how they relate to you, it pervades everything you do." (OAKLEY M. 1991)
"Where would Stephen Hawking be if he had been born with his inability to speak, instead of acquiring it as an adult already
respected as 'the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Albert Einstein'? His intelligence may have still shone through, but would
he have been given the opportunity to advance to the height that he has attained? Would he have been given enough hope to
EXPECT as much of himself?" (SAILORS R. 1991)
"Moreover, due to lack of understandable speech, many of these individuals encounter a wholesale diminution or outright deprivation
of their most basic civil rights and liberties. The 'cloak of incompetence' is the heaviest burden Americans with severe speech
disabilities still face in our country. Now is the time to break its steel grip grasp over our lives once and for all."
(WILLIAMS B. 1991 page 2)
"Freedom of expression is both a necessity and a highly prized right in our country. In its absence Americans with significant
speech disabilities routinely experience isolation, discrimination, segregation, illiteracy, institutionalization, unemployment, poverty,
and despair. Due to the lack of understandable speech, these individuals are perceived to be unable to direct their own lives; a
perception that often leads to an erosion or outright deprivation of their most basic civil rights and liberties."
(UNITED CEREBRAL PALSY ASSOCIATIONS 1992)
"Denying these individuals a voice has also had the effect of further cementing the tiles in the mosaic - since, if they could not
communicate, there was no way they could tell us whether or not they liked the lives we designed for them. So we assumed they
did and continued to design them." (MIRENDA P. 1993 page 4)
"Genie's case suggests the possibility that normal cerebral organisation may depend on language development occurring at the
appropriate time... If Genie was any indication, we a physically formed by the influence of language. An essential part of our
personal physical development is conferred on us by others, and comes in at the ear. The organization of our brain is as genetically
ordained and as automatic as breathing, but, like breathing, it is initiated by the slap of a midwife, and the midwife is grammar.
(RYMER R. 1993 pages 174 - 175)
"'What is it that language can do for a person?' Curtiss asked. 'It allows us to cognize, to think, and that's important to me because
I'm that type of person. It also allows us to share ourselves with others - our ideas and thoughts. And that provides a huge part of
what I consider to be human in my existence.' " (RYMER R. 1993 page 227)
"Where there is failure to develop language or where speech is rendered unintelligible through neurological or other organic disorder,
lack of verbal communication with others can have far-reaching effects on many aspects of a child's development. Reduced ability
to comprehend and use language will hinder cognitive and social development and there is known to be a high incidence of
emotional and behavioural problems among such children." (DALTON P. 1994 Page 2)
"There can be no doubt that communication problems may severely affect the development of self-concepts in the child."
(DALTON P. 1994 Page 2)
"Imagine a life without words! Trappist monks opt for it. But most of us would not give up words for anything. Every day we utter
thousands and thousands of words. Communicating our joys, fears, opinions, fantasies, wishes, requests, demands, feelings - and
the occasional threat or insult - is a very important aspect of being human. The air is always thick with our verbal emissions. There
are so many things we want to tell the world. Some of them are important, some of them are not. But we talk anyway - even when
we know that what we are saying is totally unimportant. We love chitchat and find silent encounters awkward, or even oppressive.
A life without words would be a horrendous privation." (KATAMBA F. 1994)
"Language is so tightly woven into human experience that it is scarcely possible to imagine life without it. Chances are that if you
find two or more people together anywhere on earth, they will soon be exchanging words. When there is no on to talk with, people
talk to themselves, to their dogs, even to their plants. In our social relations, the race is not to the swift but to the verbal - the
spellbinding orator, the silver-tongued seducer, the persuasive child who wins the battle of wits against a brawnier parent. Aphasia,
the loss of language following brain injury, is devastating, and in severe cases family members may feel that the whole person is
lost forever." (PINKER S. 1994)
"One discovery changed the course of history forever - we learnt to talk. Speech has allowed the communication of ideas
enabling human beings to build the impossible. Mankind's greatest achievements have come about by talking and its greatest
failures by not talking. It doesn't have to be like this. Our greatest hopes could become reality. With the technology at our disposal
the possibilities are unbounded. All we need to do is make sure we keep talking."
(HAWKING S. from the British Telecom television advertisement 1994)
"People with communications deficits face particular challenges unique to them. It is through communicative interactions that
individuals are able to transcend the barriers erected by disability. Being unable to speak creates special problems. A well-used
communication aid can be an effective tool for integrating people with communication disabilities into the culture of a particular
workplace." (DICKERSON L. 1995 page 34)
"What we do know is that the outcome for children with speech and language problems is very poor. In middle childhood about
50 per cent of children with language difficulties will have related emotional difficulties." (GOODYER I. 1995 page 13)
"I mean if a person cannot communicate his/her thoughts, others will do it for the person and assume they know what the person
means and what's best for the person. Their intentions are well meant, however, the whole concept is... BULL! "
(KITCH R. 1995 page 4)
"My teacher is a witch. She rides the broom every day. One day I hope to be able to use my Liberator well enough to tell her where
to go." (KLAUDITZ D. 1995)
"The emergence and development of the ability to communicate through speech and the ability to move beyond the here-and-now
through thinking are among the most striking achievements of childhood - for they are not only the most distinctly human
capacities, but are also at the very centre of psychological development." (LEE V. & DAS GUPTA P. 1995 page vii)
"Both of these young men illustrate the importance of considering an augmentative communication device for anyone who has a
severe expressive language disorder. For both of these young men, their communication devices have opened the way to freedom
and success." (McNAIRN P. 1995 page 77)
"One of the most vividly defined memories of my childhood is a burning sense of embarrassment starting in my face and then slowly
flowing through my body as I stared back at the circle of kids who were staring at me. First came the looks, then came the voices.
'Hey, kid, why are you in that chair?' one would start off. The others, seeing how bold the first kid was, were imbued with their own
sense of bravery. 'Why are you holding your arms like that, are you cold?; 'Can't you talk?' 'Hey, look at him, he's drooling!' 'He can't
talk and he drools; why, he must be a big baby!' These words mounted into a terrible cacophony of torment. They swirled around my
head like a bunch of angry mosquitoes, but I had no effective way of swatting at them." (WILLIAMS M. 1995 page 2)
" 'Do you mean the national curriculum, Charles?' I asked, fascinated that a centenarian, retired from teaching for some 40 years,
should still want to know about his former profession. 'I don't know,' he replied, 'I keep hearing about this new curriculum on the
radio. What is it?' I described it briefly and neutrally so as not to raise his blood pressure unduly. 'Is there anything about
communication in it?', he asked, 'that's what's important for children, you know.' "
(WRAGG T. 1996, page 64, talking with Charles Warrell)
"And language remains our greatest treasure, for without it we are confined to a world that, while not one of social isolation, is surely
one that is a great deal less rich. Language makes us members of a community, providing us with the opportunity to share
knowledge and experiences in a way no other species can." (DUNBAR R. 1996 page 7)
"Below, people laugh, joke, call out. I would like to be a part of all this hilarity, but as soon as I direct my one eye towards them, the
young man, the grandmother and the homeless man turn away, feeling the sudden need to study the ceiling smoke-detector. The
tourists must be very worried about fire." (BAUBY J. D. 1997)
Every community has sophisticated language:
"When it comes to linguistic form, Plato walks with the Macedonian swineherd, Confucius with the head-hunting savage of
Assam." (SAPIR E. 1921)
"The particular patterns of mental grammar may not be the same from one language to the next, but patterns of comparable
complexity can always be found. In this respect there is no difference between the language of contemporary Western societies,
those of present day Aprimitive@ cultures, and those of the distant past that can be recovered from written records."
(JACKENDOFF R. 1993 pages 14 - 15)
"and every person in that community has a right to communication. Communication is the basis of learning. Communication is
essential for the acquisition of knowledge. How are we to tell whether an individual (with severe physical impairment) has
internalised language unless s/he can communicate? It is imperative that the neurological development of language skills are given
every opportunity to proceed without impediment:
It is clear from the phenomenological descriptions of Rapin and Schlesinger, and from the behavioural and neurophysiological
evidence amassed by Neville, that language experience can grossly alter cerebral development - and that if it is severely deficient,
or otherwise aberrant, it may delay the maturation of the brain, preventing proper left hemisphere development, in effect confining
the person to a right hemisphere sort of language "
(SACKS O. 1989) (Quoting RAPIN I. 1979; SCHLESINGER H. 1988; NEVILLE H. 1989)
"Her (NEVILLE H. 1989) findings can be interpreted to mean that the left hemisphere must be exposed to conversation early for
normal language development. But more than that, it suggests that without that early exposure, the brain itself won't become
organized into the usual left-right split. It=s not that the usual language hemisphere, the left, will remain blank - it will actually lose
its capacity for language, and possibly other mental abilities, and the brain will become organized in a completely different way
than it would have been had that individual been exposed to language at an early age. Our brains have a right- left difference,
not for language, but because of it." (INGRAM J. 1992)
"If, for whatever reason, a child misses the critical period, at the very least he will never be able to use language as well as he
should, or at worst, will never learn proper language at all." (INGRAM J. 1992)
The time allowed for developing the skills necessary to communicate cannot simply be assigned to one half-hour session a week in the wonderland that is the speech professional's department. Nor can it be the sole domain and concern of one member of staff, working in isolation:
"The lack of communication competency in many AAC users is also considered to be the function of the isolated therapeutic model
of service delivery that is prevalent in the field of AAC. Using this model the AAC user is removed from the natural communication
environment at an isolated time for 'therapy'. As a result, teachers, therapists, rehabilitation specialists, vocational training
specialists, aides, and family members who are the primary communication partners of the AAC user are unfamiliar with the AAC
system or effective techniques for facilitating communication competency." (ELDER P. & GOOSSENS C. 1993 page 34)
The Bullock report (DES 1975) advocated language across the curriculum:
"The teacher should take deliberate measures to improve his pupils' ability to handle .... language" (DES 1975)
and emphasised a whole school approach to language. English was not to be considered as the concern of just one teacher, but of the whole staff:
"It is time we abandoned this idea that 'it's up to the English teacher'. It isn't, it hasn't ever been, it never will be. We have thought a
good deal about the functions of the school but how much attention have we paid to it as a language environment?
(CREBER P. 1972 page 25) (Note: For 'English teacher' try reading 'speech professional')
We too, should consider ourselves as the imparters of language and communication skills. As teachers of those who are variously labelled as disadvantaged, learning disabled, having learning difficulties and, more recently, having special needs. There is a need for the staff of all places of learning to adopt a whole school approach to communication skills tuition:
"We must avoid at all costs the temptation to set up a new and separate communicative context which the child only experiences
during a language remediation programme." (BEVERIDGE M. & CONTI-RAMSDEN G. 1987)
"It is essential that communication skills are integrated into the child's day (and night!) And are not merely consigned to that part of
the timetable marked 'language' or 'speech therapy'. (KNIGHT C. 1992 page 25)
"Since the 1970's authorities have recommended an integrated therapeutic model of service delivery where all related services
(speech/language therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, etc.) are integrated into the daily living environments
(BATES P., RENZAGLIA A., & WEHMAN P. 1981; CALCULATOR S. 1988; FALVEY M., BISHOP K., GRENOT-SCHEYER M., &
COOTS J. 1988; HAMRE-NIETUPSKI S., NIETUPSKI J., BATES P., & MAURER S. 1982; SNELL M. 1988) An integrated
therapeutic model for communication skills training is imperative as communication is not an isolated event occurring at a
designated time and place. As communication occurs throughout most of the events of each day, communication training must
occur during daily activities. In addition, communication training must be conducted by those environmental persons routinely
conducting those daily activities." (ELDER P. & GOOSSENS C. 1993 page 34)
No matter how the establishment is labelled, those with the responsibility for the curriculum for the language impaired must be shown the errors of their ways (if errors there are) and led from the darkness:
"Where glowing embers through the room
Teach light to counterfeit a gloom" (MILTON J.: Il Penseroso p.79)
Easier said than done it is true, but, while half an hour a week is better than nothing at all, even speech professionals have their limitations. The marginalisation of the needs of the special must end, and be incorporated into a curriculum for the whole:
"First, most funding sources failed to realise that learning to effectively use an AAC device required extensive instruction. Second,
few professionals were prepared to provide this instruction. Where instruction did occur, it was provided during weekly sessions in
either rehabilitation hospitals or clinics. This method of instruction had already been challenged in the schools, when it was
recognized that sporadic and isolated therapy sessions were less than optimal in developing communicative competence."
(BRYEN B. N., SLESARANSKY G., BAKER D. B. 1995)
It may be argued that the National Curriculum will do nothing to aid the cause of augmentative communication studies within schools. However, many of the individual subject=s stage-one attainment targets express the need for good communication skills. English, for example states:
"The development of pupils' understanding of the spoken word and the capacity to express themselves effectively in a variety of
speaking and listening activities, matching style and response to audience and purpose."
(Quoted in REID Ba.1989) (See also REID Ba. 1990)
The Dearing Report (DEARING R. 1993) on the National Curriculum and its assessment supports the importance of good communication skills:
"The first priority for discretionary time must be to support the work in the basics of literacy, oracy, and numeracy."
(paragraphs 2.4, 3.26, 4.46)(my bold)
"Schools should liaise with parents over the development of the appropriate curriculum for statemented pupils."
(paragraphs 2.26 & 6.5)
Oracy is important:
"From this we can argue that language learning in the school years may be a source of problems, misunderstandings and apparent
failures to learn. Oracy - a rather ungainly word used to refer to the expertise, skill and knowledge involved in effective verbal
communication - should, then, be an important part of the school curriculum." (WOOD D. 1988)
and yet it is not achieved by many children:
"If we accept that the development of >oracy= is a legitimate goal of education, why is its achievement seemingly so elusive for
many children?" (WOOD D. 1988)
The whole school approach, mentioned earlier, misleads by using, perhaps, the wrong terminology. The whole life approach (holistic approach?) might be more appropriate. How diminished is life without the power to communicate? Contrary to popular opinion silence is not always golden.
"A successful outcome is the augmented communicator who communicates as fully as a non-speech impaired person of the same
age, sex, education. ethnicity, and intelligence." (CREECH R. 1995 page 12)
Thus, there must be an endeavour, not only to involve all other professionals, but all who are, in any way, concerned with the user (significant others), especially the family:
"Yes, we must, indeed, all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately."
(BENJAMIN FRANKLIN at signing of Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776)
education where there is a great deal of subject compartmentalisation. Each subject in the curriculum is thought to be a group of
skills that can be taught apart from language." (BEVERIDGE M. & CONTI-RAMSDEN G. 1987)
The cartoon restates the point that the implementation of AAC can not be taken lightly. It requires commitment and will likely require some change. Changes in attitude, in ethos, in philosophy, in working practices and routine, and in the curriculum, may all be necessary. Providing more of the same (curriculum) without embracing the need for some change may not create a situation in which language and communication skills can be nurtured:
"You can't always get an entirely new function out of a device by adding more of the same parts. To take a crude example,
you can't get your car to fly by adding more cylinders to the engine" (JACKENDOFF R. 1993 page 5)
While attitude change towards an individual will likely occur as a result of an increase in communicative ability this change in attitudes may be a necessary precursor to the development of communicative abilities in many users:
"The former do not deny that attitude change happens as a result of increased fluency, but they see no need for the clinician to do
anything about it." (DALTON P. 1994 page 68)
There is one constant in life and that constant is ..... change. Not all change is for the better and so, if change is inevitable, staff should work to ensure that it will benefit those people for whom AAC is intended.
No learning takes place in a vacuum. Learning is an integral part of the social reality that is the user=s world. We cannot be successful teachers of communication skills in an environment that negates the goals that have been set at every turn. Therefore, it is essential to make ready the >theatre of operations= in which the battle is to commence. This will likely include:
- preparing the user;
- preparing Significant Others
- planning how to work within the structure set by the curriculum;
- analysing establishment and individual philosophies and getting agreement to work with change.
The user who has learnt passivity in a situation where little is expected, which provides routinely for all daily needs and gives little, if any, real choice, can hardly be expected to develop initiation skills (passivity is dealt with separately below). It may only be by challenging the assumptions of establishment philosophy that an atmosphere in which communication is able to develop can be created.
Whatever one may think about the >visionary prophets of physical management', be they Temple Fay and the Doman Delacato Method, the Bobaths, or Peto, etc (See LEVITT S. 1982; SCOTSON L. 1985), one thing they should teach us is, with the right atmosphere, a good deal of consistent team effort, a pinch of faith, and the right strategies (taking into account the needs of all), wonders can be achieved.
Ex nihilo nihil fit
(Out of nothing nothing comes)
It is time to ensure that the difficult work that lies ahead is not in vain. Language and communication skills are important:
"There is no pleasure to me without communication: there is not so much as a sprightly thought comes into my mind that it does
not grieve me to have produced alone, and that I have no one to tell it to." (DE MONTAIGNE M. 1588)
"Language most shews a man: Speak, that I may see thee." (BEN JONSON 1641)
"The limits of my language mean the limits of my world" (WITTGENSTEIN L. 1953)
"What has influenced my life more than any other single thing has been my stammer. Had I not stammered I would probably have
gone to Cambridge as my brothers did, perhaps have become a don and every now and then published a dreary book about French
literature." (W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM: Newsweek, New York, 23 May 1960).
"Lacking a language the child is crippled in mind and personality. He is condemned to an intellectual silence and an emotional
solitude too distressing to contemplate." (SHERIDAN M. 1964)
"It is through ... talk that children can best find out in exchange with one another what are their responses to an experience,
real or symbolic,and help one another to come to terms with it." (BARNES D. 1966)
"Sentences have a compelling power to control both thought and action." (BRUNER J. S. 1966)
"The child who puts into words what he is doing and what he is going to do increases his persistence and is better able to carry out
his plan." (BRITTON J. 1967, p. 12)
"Man does not speak because he thinks; he thinks because he speaks. Or rather, speaking is no different than thinking:
to speak is to think.." (OCTAVIO PAZ 1967)
"Language is a form of culturally determined behaviour and this behaviour includes the ability to take on a range of linguistically
defined roles in speech situations. Unless the child grows up in an environment in which all these speech situation roles are open
to him, he will fail to master important areas in the grammar of the language. Therefore, he must be given the opportunity to behave
linguistically in all the culturally determined roles which the language recognises: to ask and answer questions, to give and respond
to commands, to explain things, to express reservations, contradictions, contrasts; to vary the key of his utterances; to explore, in
other words, a full range of linguistic relations with his interlocutors." (HALLIDAY M. 1968)
"The communication difficulty may finally prove to be the greatest disability of all in cerebral palsied people. Without adequate
communication social life, even at a most elementary level, is impossible. But with adequate communication the effects of even a
very severe physical handicap can be alleviated very greatly in many ways. We realise that many cerebral palsied people may never
speak intelligibly. But, provided they have the knowledge of language and understanding, there is always the possibility of being
able to communicate back by some kind of technical device ... We hope that ... eventually we will be able to produce a speaking
machine, which could be easily operated by a cerebral palsied person and so make it possible to discover whether a cerebral
palsied child has a hearing difficulty or not. The discovery of a hearing loss in good time may enable him to learn the knowledge of
language and understanding so, even if not able to speak, he may be able to communicate back by some technical device.
This itself will influence his whole future life ." (FISCH L. 1969)
"The whole structure of the mental life of both twins was simultaneously and sharply changed. Once they acquired an objective
language system, the children were able to formulate the aims of their activity verbally and after only three months we observed
the beginnings of meaningful play " (LURIA A. & YUDOVICH F. 1971)
"Through language he makes the present comprehensible, the past available, the future conceivable." (CREBER P. 1972)
"Pray for the Mute who have no word to say.=
Cried the one old gentleman, Not because they are dumb,
But they are weak. And the weak thoughts beating in the brain
Generate a sort of heat, yet cannot speak.
Thoughts that are bound without sound
In the tomb of the brain's room, wound. Pray for the Mute." (SMITH S. 1975)
"Learning to communicate is at the heart of education" (BARNES D. 1976)
"No one in this day and age can possibly underestimate the importance of language. We are surrounded by talking."
(JEFFREE D. & McCONKEY R. 1976)
"Conversational ability plays a crucial role in the conduct of an individual=s personal and social lives."
(HIGGINBOTHAM D. & YODER D. 1982)
"Cerebral palsied children have a multiplicity of problems: depending on the extent of their brain damage, there may be intellectual
deficit and sensory loss in addition to motor disability. These together with psychosocial factors will influence communicative ability.
Maximum development of a child's communication should be the principal goal for everyone concerned." (COOMBES K. 1986)
"Speech is the most important thing we have. It makes us a person and not a thing. No one should ever have to be a thing."
(JOSEPH D. 1986 page 8)
"The ability to communicate, that is, to interact socially and to make needs and wants known, is central to the determination of an
individual's quality of life. The power of communication is especially important for the severely handicapped .... these individuals
face a lifetime of substantial, if not total dependence on others; hence, their ability to communicate and establish some control
over their environment must be recognized as a priority in their programming." (LIGHT J., McNAUGHTON D., & PARNES P. 1986)
"Furthermore, language becomes the most important medium not only of expressing thoughts but also of the formation and
organisation of the child's knowledge" (BEVERIDGE M. & CONTI-RAMSDEN G. 1987)
"In addition, it is thought that language interacts with the child's learning and ability to cope with the demands of the classroom.
Thus those children with language difficulties do not have a discrete, contained problem. They have a problem which affects their
whole school career." (BEVERIDGE M. & CONTI-RAMSDEN G. 1987)
"I can't tell you how it feels when there is something important to talk about and no way they can understand you ... you try harder
and it gets worse. You end up not saying anything." (SMITH-LEWIS M. & FORD A. 1987)
"Helen Keller accomplished many of the goals she set for herself, but one of her most cherished dreams was forever unrealized:
despite enormous effort, she never learned to speak clearly." (WEPMAN D. 1987 page 57)
(For other works on Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy see - KELLER H. 1903; KELLER H. 1908; KELLER H. 1913; KELLER H. & MACY A. S. 1913; KELLER H. 1927; KELLER H. 1929; KELLER H. 1938; ROSS I. 1951; KELLER H. 1955; BROOKS V. W. 1956; WHITE H. 1959; HARRITY R. & MARTIN R. 1962; DAVIDSON M. 1965; KELLER H. 1972; LASH J. 1980)
"If you want to know what it is like to be unable to speak, there is a way. Go to a party and don't talk. Play mute. Use your hands
if you wish but don't use paper and pencil. Paper and pencil are not always handy for a mute person. Here is what you will find:
people talking; talking behind, beside, around, over, under, through, and even for you. But never with you. You are ignored until
finally you feel like a piece of furniture." (Rick Creech quoted in MUSSELWHITE C. & ST. LOUIS K. 1988 page 104)
"The mothers of J. S., S. B. and J. B., and B. V. often commented that these children were demonstrating more communicative
responsiveness, less frustration, and smoother interchanges with them since they had acquired a Away to express themselves."
(KOURI T. 1988)
"And to be defective in language, for a human being, is one of the most desperate of calamities, for it is only through language that
we enter fully into our human estate and culture, communicate freely with our fellows, acquire and share information. If we cannot
do this, we will be bizarrely disabled and cut off - whatever our desires, or endeavours, or native capacities. And indeed, we may be
so little able to realize our intellectual capacities as to appear mentally defective." (SACKS O. 1989)
"The corollary to all of this is that if communication goes awry, it will affect intellectual growth, social intercourse, language
development, and emotional attitudes, all at once, simultaneously and inseparably." (SACKS O. 1989)
"My basic problem was one I've encountered through my whole life. When you can't talk, and people believe that your mind is as
handicapped as your body, it's awfully difficult to change their opinion." (SIENKIEWICZ‑MERCER R. & KAPLAN S. B. 1989)
"To fully participate in an educational environment, an individual must have the tools to interact. Oral communication which is now
possible through the development of voice output communication aids, will only enhance the involvement and participation of AAC
communicators in the classroom. Every child should have the tools necessary to help him maximize his talents and to benefit from
educational opportunities." (MARCH J. 1990 page 96)
"Freedom of speech, an inalienable right upon which our country was founded. Why is it that so many individuals are denied this
right because they have no access to augmentative communication? I firmly believe it is the responsibility of all of us -- parents,
professionals and consumers of AAC to ensure freedom of speech for all who are denied it because of their physical limitation.
Daniel Webster said 'If my possessions were taken from me with one exception, I would choose to keep the power of
communication, for by it, I would soon regain all the rest.' The advancements in technology and voice-output augmentative devices
has allowed many more individuals to keep the 'power of communication', but not without a struggle. Barriers such as lack of
awareness, limited or no funding, minimal training and support have kept many more speechless. In some instances, families are
discouraged to push for augmentative communication because they are told their child will never talk if they 'give in', or that young
children don't need or can't use the technology. Why is this? A child needs a great deal of support to realize their potential and we
can't assume their capacity without giving them the necessary skills to succeed. (MARCH J. 1991 page 3)
"A communication handicap is quite different from other handicaps. It affects the manner in which you relate to other people and
how they relate to you, it pervades everything you do." (OAKLEY M. 1991)
"Where would Stephen Hawking be if he had been born with his inability to speak, instead of acquiring it as an adult already
respected as 'the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Albert Einstein'? His intelligence may have still shone through, but would
he have been given the opportunity to advance to the height that he has attained? Would he have been given enough hope to
EXPECT as much of himself?" (SAILORS R. 1991)
"Moreover, due to lack of understandable speech, many of these individuals encounter a wholesale diminution or outright deprivation
of their most basic civil rights and liberties. The 'cloak of incompetence' is the heaviest burden Americans with severe speech
disabilities still face in our country. Now is the time to break its steel grip grasp over our lives once and for all."
(WILLIAMS B. 1991 page 2)
"Freedom of expression is both a necessity and a highly prized right in our country. In its absence Americans with significant
speech disabilities routinely experience isolation, discrimination, segregation, illiteracy, institutionalization, unemployment, poverty,
and despair. Due to the lack of understandable speech, these individuals are perceived to be unable to direct their own lives; a
perception that often leads to an erosion or outright deprivation of their most basic civil rights and liberties."
(UNITED CEREBRAL PALSY ASSOCIATIONS 1992)
"Denying these individuals a voice has also had the effect of further cementing the tiles in the mosaic - since, if they could not
communicate, there was no way they could tell us whether or not they liked the lives we designed for them. So we assumed they
did and continued to design them." (MIRENDA P. 1993 page 4)
"Genie's case suggests the possibility that normal cerebral organisation may depend on language development occurring at the
appropriate time... If Genie was any indication, we a physically formed by the influence of language. An essential part of our
personal physical development is conferred on us by others, and comes in at the ear. The organization of our brain is as genetically
ordained and as automatic as breathing, but, like breathing, it is initiated by the slap of a midwife, and the midwife is grammar.
(RYMER R. 1993 pages 174 - 175)
"'What is it that language can do for a person?' Curtiss asked. 'It allows us to cognize, to think, and that's important to me because
I'm that type of person. It also allows us to share ourselves with others - our ideas and thoughts. And that provides a huge part of
what I consider to be human in my existence.' " (RYMER R. 1993 page 227)
"Where there is failure to develop language or where speech is rendered unintelligible through neurological or other organic disorder,
lack of verbal communication with others can have far-reaching effects on many aspects of a child's development. Reduced ability
to comprehend and use language will hinder cognitive and social development and there is known to be a high incidence of
emotional and behavioural problems among such children." (DALTON P. 1994 Page 2)
"There can be no doubt that communication problems may severely affect the development of self-concepts in the child."
(DALTON P. 1994 Page 2)
"Imagine a life without words! Trappist monks opt for it. But most of us would not give up words for anything. Every day we utter
thousands and thousands of words. Communicating our joys, fears, opinions, fantasies, wishes, requests, demands, feelings - and
the occasional threat or insult - is a very important aspect of being human. The air is always thick with our verbal emissions. There
are so many things we want to tell the world. Some of them are important, some of them are not. But we talk anyway - even when
we know that what we are saying is totally unimportant. We love chitchat and find silent encounters awkward, or even oppressive.
A life without words would be a horrendous privation." (KATAMBA F. 1994)
"Language is so tightly woven into human experience that it is scarcely possible to imagine life without it. Chances are that if you
find two or more people together anywhere on earth, they will soon be exchanging words. When there is no on to talk with, people
talk to themselves, to their dogs, even to their plants. In our social relations, the race is not to the swift but to the verbal - the
spellbinding orator, the silver-tongued seducer, the persuasive child who wins the battle of wits against a brawnier parent. Aphasia,
the loss of language following brain injury, is devastating, and in severe cases family members may feel that the whole person is
lost forever." (PINKER S. 1994)
"One discovery changed the course of history forever - we learnt to talk. Speech has allowed the communication of ideas
enabling human beings to build the impossible. Mankind's greatest achievements have come about by talking and its greatest
failures by not talking. It doesn't have to be like this. Our greatest hopes could become reality. With the technology at our disposal
the possibilities are unbounded. All we need to do is make sure we keep talking."
(HAWKING S. from the British Telecom television advertisement 1994)
"People with communications deficits face particular challenges unique to them. It is through communicative interactions that
individuals are able to transcend the barriers erected by disability. Being unable to speak creates special problems. A well-used
communication aid can be an effective tool for integrating people with communication disabilities into the culture of a particular
workplace." (DICKERSON L. 1995 page 34)
"What we do know is that the outcome for children with speech and language problems is very poor. In middle childhood about
50 per cent of children with language difficulties will have related emotional difficulties." (GOODYER I. 1995 page 13)
"I mean if a person cannot communicate his/her thoughts, others will do it for the person and assume they know what the person
means and what's best for the person. Their intentions are well meant, however, the whole concept is... BULL! "
(KITCH R. 1995 page 4)
"My teacher is a witch. She rides the broom every day. One day I hope to be able to use my Liberator well enough to tell her where
to go." (KLAUDITZ D. 1995)
"The emergence and development of the ability to communicate through speech and the ability to move beyond the here-and-now
through thinking are among the most striking achievements of childhood - for they are not only the most distinctly human
capacities, but are also at the very centre of psychological development." (LEE V. & DAS GUPTA P. 1995 page vii)
"Both of these young men illustrate the importance of considering an augmentative communication device for anyone who has a
severe expressive language disorder. For both of these young men, their communication devices have opened the way to freedom
and success." (McNAIRN P. 1995 page 77)
"One of the most vividly defined memories of my childhood is a burning sense of embarrassment starting in my face and then slowly
flowing through my body as I stared back at the circle of kids who were staring at me. First came the looks, then came the voices.
'Hey, kid, why are you in that chair?' one would start off. The others, seeing how bold the first kid was, were imbued with their own
sense of bravery. 'Why are you holding your arms like that, are you cold?; 'Can't you talk?' 'Hey, look at him, he's drooling!' 'He can't
talk and he drools; why, he must be a big baby!' These words mounted into a terrible cacophony of torment. They swirled around my
head like a bunch of angry mosquitoes, but I had no effective way of swatting at them." (WILLIAMS M. 1995 page 2)
" 'Do you mean the national curriculum, Charles?' I asked, fascinated that a centenarian, retired from teaching for some 40 years,
should still want to know about his former profession. 'I don't know,' he replied, 'I keep hearing about this new curriculum on the
radio. What is it?' I described it briefly and neutrally so as not to raise his blood pressure unduly. 'Is there anything about
communication in it?', he asked, 'that's what's important for children, you know.' "
(WRAGG T. 1996, page 64, talking with Charles Warrell)
"And language remains our greatest treasure, for without it we are confined to a world that, while not one of social isolation, is surely
one that is a great deal less rich. Language makes us members of a community, providing us with the opportunity to share
knowledge and experiences in a way no other species can." (DUNBAR R. 1996 page 7)
"Below, people laugh, joke, call out. I would like to be a part of all this hilarity, but as soon as I direct my one eye towards them, the
young man, the grandmother and the homeless man turn away, feeling the sudden need to study the ceiling smoke-detector. The
tourists must be very worried about fire." (BAUBY J. D. 1997)
Every community has sophisticated language:
"When it comes to linguistic form, Plato walks with the Macedonian swineherd, Confucius with the head-hunting savage of
Assam." (SAPIR E. 1921)
"The particular patterns of mental grammar may not be the same from one language to the next, but patterns of comparable
complexity can always be found. In this respect there is no difference between the language of contemporary Western societies,
those of present day Aprimitive@ cultures, and those of the distant past that can be recovered from written records."
(JACKENDOFF R. 1993 pages 14 - 15)
"and every person in that community has a right to communication. Communication is the basis of learning. Communication is
essential for the acquisition of knowledge. How are we to tell whether an individual (with severe physical impairment) has
internalised language unless s/he can communicate? It is imperative that the neurological development of language skills are given
every opportunity to proceed without impediment:
It is clear from the phenomenological descriptions of Rapin and Schlesinger, and from the behavioural and neurophysiological
evidence amassed by Neville, that language experience can grossly alter cerebral development - and that if it is severely deficient,
or otherwise aberrant, it may delay the maturation of the brain, preventing proper left hemisphere development, in effect confining
the person to a right hemisphere sort of language "
(SACKS O. 1989) (Quoting RAPIN I. 1979; SCHLESINGER H. 1988; NEVILLE H. 1989)
"Her (NEVILLE H. 1989) findings can be interpreted to mean that the left hemisphere must be exposed to conversation early for
normal language development. But more than that, it suggests that without that early exposure, the brain itself won't become
organized into the usual left-right split. It=s not that the usual language hemisphere, the left, will remain blank - it will actually lose
its capacity for language, and possibly other mental abilities, and the brain will become organized in a completely different way
than it would have been had that individual been exposed to language at an early age. Our brains have a right- left difference,
not for language, but because of it." (INGRAM J. 1992)
"If, for whatever reason, a child misses the critical period, at the very least he will never be able to use language as well as he
should, or at worst, will never learn proper language at all." (INGRAM J. 1992)
The time allowed for developing the skills necessary to communicate cannot simply be assigned to one half-hour session a week in the wonderland that is the speech professional's department. Nor can it be the sole domain and concern of one member of staff, working in isolation:
"The lack of communication competency in many AAC users is also considered to be the function of the isolated therapeutic model
of service delivery that is prevalent in the field of AAC. Using this model the AAC user is removed from the natural communication
environment at an isolated time for 'therapy'. As a result, teachers, therapists, rehabilitation specialists, vocational training
specialists, aides, and family members who are the primary communication partners of the AAC user are unfamiliar with the AAC
system or effective techniques for facilitating communication competency." (ELDER P. & GOOSSENS C. 1993 page 34)
The Bullock report (DES 1975) advocated language across the curriculum:
"The teacher should take deliberate measures to improve his pupils' ability to handle .... language" (DES 1975)
and emphasised a whole school approach to language. English was not to be considered as the concern of just one teacher, but of the whole staff:
"It is time we abandoned this idea that 'it's up to the English teacher'. It isn't, it hasn't ever been, it never will be. We have thought a
good deal about the functions of the school but how much attention have we paid to it as a language environment?
(CREBER P. 1972 page 25) (Note: For 'English teacher' try reading 'speech professional')
We too, should consider ourselves as the imparters of language and communication skills. As teachers of those who are variously labelled as disadvantaged, learning disabled, having learning difficulties and, more recently, having special needs. There is a need for the staff of all places of learning to adopt a whole school approach to communication skills tuition:
"We must avoid at all costs the temptation to set up a new and separate communicative context which the child only experiences
during a language remediation programme." (BEVERIDGE M. & CONTI-RAMSDEN G. 1987)
"It is essential that communication skills are integrated into the child's day (and night!) And are not merely consigned to that part of
the timetable marked 'language' or 'speech therapy'. (KNIGHT C. 1992 page 25)
"Since the 1970's authorities have recommended an integrated therapeutic model of service delivery where all related services
(speech/language therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, etc.) are integrated into the daily living environments
(BATES P., RENZAGLIA A., & WEHMAN P. 1981; CALCULATOR S. 1988; FALVEY M., BISHOP K., GRENOT-SCHEYER M., &
COOTS J. 1988; HAMRE-NIETUPSKI S., NIETUPSKI J., BATES P., & MAURER S. 1982; SNELL M. 1988) An integrated
therapeutic model for communication skills training is imperative as communication is not an isolated event occurring at a
designated time and place. As communication occurs throughout most of the events of each day, communication training must
occur during daily activities. In addition, communication training must be conducted by those environmental persons routinely
conducting those daily activities." (ELDER P. & GOOSSENS C. 1993 page 34)
No matter how the establishment is labelled, those with the responsibility for the curriculum for the language impaired must be shown the errors of their ways (if errors there are) and led from the darkness:
"Where glowing embers through the room
Teach light to counterfeit a gloom" (MILTON J.: Il Penseroso p.79)
Easier said than done it is true, but, while half an hour a week is better than nothing at all, even speech professionals have their limitations. The marginalisation of the needs of the special must end, and be incorporated into a curriculum for the whole:
"First, most funding sources failed to realise that learning to effectively use an AAC device required extensive instruction. Second,
few professionals were prepared to provide this instruction. Where instruction did occur, it was provided during weekly sessions in
either rehabilitation hospitals or clinics. This method of instruction had already been challenged in the schools, when it was
recognized that sporadic and isolated therapy sessions were less than optimal in developing communicative competence."
(BRYEN B. N., SLESARANSKY G., BAKER D. B. 1995)
It may be argued that the National Curriculum will do nothing to aid the cause of augmentative communication studies within schools. However, many of the individual subject=s stage-one attainment targets express the need for good communication skills. English, for example states:
"The development of pupils' understanding of the spoken word and the capacity to express themselves effectively in a variety of
speaking and listening activities, matching style and response to audience and purpose."
(Quoted in REID Ba.1989) (See also REID Ba. 1990)
The Dearing Report (DEARING R. 1993) on the National Curriculum and its assessment supports the importance of good communication skills:
"The first priority for discretionary time must be to support the work in the basics of literacy, oracy, and numeracy."
(paragraphs 2.4, 3.26, 4.46)(my bold)
"Schools should liaise with parents over the development of the appropriate curriculum for statemented pupils."
(paragraphs 2.26 & 6.5)
Oracy is important:
"From this we can argue that language learning in the school years may be a source of problems, misunderstandings and apparent
failures to learn. Oracy - a rather ungainly word used to refer to the expertise, skill and knowledge involved in effective verbal
communication - should, then, be an important part of the school curriculum." (WOOD D. 1988)
and yet it is not achieved by many children:
"If we accept that the development of >oracy= is a legitimate goal of education, why is its achievement seemingly so elusive for
many children?" (WOOD D. 1988)
The whole school approach, mentioned earlier, misleads by using, perhaps, the wrong terminology. The whole life approach (holistic approach?) might be more appropriate. How diminished is life without the power to communicate? Contrary to popular opinion silence is not always golden.
"A successful outcome is the augmented communicator who communicates as fully as a non-speech impaired person of the same
age, sex, education. ethnicity, and intelligence." (CREECH R. 1995 page 12)
Thus, there must be an endeavour, not only to involve all other professionals, but all who are, in any way, concerned with the user (significant others), especially the family:
"Yes, we must, indeed, all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately."
(BENJAMIN FRANKLIN at signing of Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776)
Introduction 5: Welcome to Incommunicado High
Welcome to Incommucado High. Our school has an international reputation. Our motto is
"Silence is golden"
We believe that children should be seen but not heard and therefore our primary focus is on discipline and the three Rs.
Incommunicado High have kindly opened their doors so that we can view the most intimate details of their working practices. The school rules and a brief note to you all from the head teacher have been included.
"Silence is golden"
We believe that children should be seen but not heard and therefore our primary focus is on discipline and the three Rs.
Incommunicado High have kindly opened their doors so that we can view the most intimate details of their working practices. The school rules and a brief note to you all from the head teacher have been included.
Introduction 6: The Staff
Here are the staff of Incommunicado High
Introduction 7: The Students
Here are some of the students studying at Incommunicado High.