Main description:

Many people with Down syndrome-one of the most common genetically-linked developmental disabilities-experience difficulty developing spoken and written communication skills. In this groundbreaking book, discover how augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) can enhance communicative competence and improve outcomes for people with Down syndrome across the lifespan. The newest volume in Beukelman and Light's respected Augmentative and Alternative Communication Series, this book fully explores how interdisciplinary, multimodal AAC strategies can promote speech, language, and literacy success across many contexts, including homes, schools, communities, health care settings, and the workplace.

Bringing together an interdisciplinary group of more than 25 experts on AAC and Down syndrome, this is a must-have resource for speech-language pathologists, special educators, and AAC specialists-and a key supplementary text for courses on AAC and developmental disabilities. Use the research-based guidance in this book to help people with Down syndrome develop stronger communication skills and participate meaningfully in their schools and communities, from early childhood through adulthood.

Readers will learn how to:

Skillfully pair unaided AAC supports (gestures and manual signs) with aided AAC (technology and other supports external to the body)
Enrich young children's communication and language development with AAC
Use AAC to boost older children's vocabulary, grammatical language, and narrative language skills
Enhance reading instruction using AAC technology
Supplement speech and improve speech intelligibility with carefully chosen interventions and visual communication aids
Engage whole families as collaborative partners to integrate AAC supports into everyday life
Address young adults' communication needs, as they evolve to include more varied communication partners, more complex topics, and new contexts
Assess cognitive and social functioning in adolescents and adults who use AAC
Support communication and self-advocacy across health care settings with AAC strategies

Contents:

Series Preface
Series Editors
About the Editors
About the Contributors
Acknowledgements
Dedication
Section I Introduction to Down syndrome and Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Chapter 1 Introduction to How Augmentative and Alternative Communication Can Promote Communication, Speech, And Language in Individuals with Down Syndrome Across the Lifespan
Chapter 2 Introduction to Individuals with Down syndrome: Genetics, Cognition, Behavior, and Language
Chapter 3 Speech Intelligibility and Communication in Down Syndrome: Intervention Approaches and the Role of Speech Supplementation
Chapter 4 Overview of Multimodal AAC Intervention Across the Lifespan For Individuals With Down Syndrome
Section II Considerations for Communication Supports across the Lifespan
Chapter 5 Integration of AAC into Early Language Intervention With Children With Down Syndrome
Chapter 6 Language Development of School-Age Children and Adolescents With Down Syndrome and Pertinent Interventions That Integrate AAC
Chapter 7 Adolescents and Adults with Down Syndrome: Supporting Communication and Participation with AAC
Chapter 8 Assessment and Intervention of Cognitive and Social Functioning in Adolescents, Young Adults, and Older Individuals with Down Syndrome
Section III Supporting Participation across Valued Contexts
Chapter 9 Collaborating with Families to Support Multimodal AAC For Individuals with Down Syndrome
Chapter 10 Supporting Communication and Self-Advocacy Related to Special Health and Medical Needs and Services
Chapter 11 Supporting Literacy and Access to Technology for Learning
Index