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There is increasing awareness of the high levels of support needed for literacy learning for children on the autism spectrum. Although research has investigated the quality of the classroom literacy environment, little attention has been paid to examining the classroom literacy environment in specialist classrooms catering specifically for children on the spectrum. The current study used the Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) to guide observations, combined with stimulated recall and semi-structured teacher interviews to explore the classroom environments and teacher practices used to support children on the spectrum. Ten teachers from two primary specialist schools participated. The findings highlighted the strong focus on language development and foundational literacy skills across the early years in both schools. Findings demonstrated the potential utility of an observation checklist such as the ELLCO in guiding observations when augmented by stimulated recall interviews. Suggestions are provided for assessing the literacy environment in specialist classrooms for children on the spectrum.

This research examined an evidence based dialogic shared reading strategy which incorporated aided language modelling and increased communication partner responsiveness with two children with complex physical, cognitive, and sensory needs (CPCSN) who use auditory plus visual partner assisted scanning (PAS) to access a Pragmatic Organised Dynamic Display (PODD) communication book. The dialogic reading strategy prompted the communication partner to comment on the story, invite a communication turn, and respond contingently to the child. A case study design was employed, and data were collected via child and adult communication frequency measures, field notes, observations, and a semi-structured interview with the children's teacher. Overall, the results indicated a positive effect on the children's communication skills, both within the intervention sessions and the classroom. This included increases in turn taking, initiations, efficiency, and conveying meaning. Shared storybook interventions that include strategies such as aided language stimulation, responsiveness and wait time can support the communication outcomes of children with CPCSN who use PAS.

A descriptive case-study design was used to document the implementation of a four-phase intervention for a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who uses augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) in an inclusive classroom. The focus of the intervention was on enhancing social communication through peer modelling of the child's speech-generating app during news-sharing, and the intervention was developed and enacted in a collaborative partnership with the classroom teacher. Various sources of data, including interviews, observations, and data from the child's AAC system, were collated and analysed. From this analysis, three key themes emerged: (1) Enhanced Participation, (2) Optimising AAC Acceptance and Use, and (3) Increased Teacher Agency. These themes suggest positive outcomes for a naturalistic, social-communication intervention, adding to the calls for further research in this area.

Assisting students with learning support needs requires a collaborative approach to educational planning and the development of a multi-dimensional profile of the student. However, developing such a profile can be difficult when information is gathered from multiple sources, culturally-relevant information is not included, and incongruent or incompatible language is used in different settings. Tools are required to facilitate information gathering and collaborative educational planning practice. This article will present findings from three qualitative research projects that explored teams' perceptions of using the New Zealand Child and Youth Profile (NZCYP) for educational planning and collaboration. Individual interviews and focus groups were conducted and then analysed to identify key themes. The results suggested that the NZCYP helped to facilitate educational planning and collaborative practice, and that it may be useful in facilitating transition. A lack of a cultural fit, along with the complexity of the NZCYP, however, impacted on some participants' perceptions of it.

Inclusive experiences for all children are foundational to New Zealand early childhood education, yet teacher beliefs and practices related to identification and referral processes may be delaying access to important early intervention support for children with disabilities. To better understand teachers' perspectives, past and present, this article details the findings from two studies conducted 14 years apart. Through comparison of findings from the work of Aspden and Baxter, this article explores teachers' beliefs and experiences related to identification and referral practices. In the original 2003 study, 50 early childhood teachers completed a paper-based postal survey, whereas in the 2017 replication, 78 early childhood teachers completed an online survey. Persistent concerns about teacher engagement with identification and referral processes were evident both past and present, particularly in relation to perceived parental reaction and beliefs about the adequacy of service provisions. Furthermore, the data revealed tensions between embracing a strengths-based approach and the need to identify children's disabilities. The findings provide insight into referral practices in the New Zealand early childhood context and suggest the need for ongoing teacher consultation in relation to policy and practice, the development of more formal referral policies and procedures, as well as enhanced professional support and development that targets teachers' need for knowledge of and connection with specialist agencies.

Purpose: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at increased risk of experiencing difficulties with the development of literacy, including the emergent literacy skills recognized to underpin conventional literacy success. Comprehensive assessment is essential. Characteristics of ASD can make assessment challenging, and this can be compounded when children are unable to demonstrate their skills using spoken language. The purpose of this clinical tutorial is to outline the process of emergent literacy assessment for children with ASD who have limited verbal communication skills. A case example of a 5-year-old boy is presented. Method: Pertinent literature is reviewed around the literacy profiles of children with ASD, the subgroup of children with ASD who have limited verbal communication skills, key components of emergent literacy, and previous research examining the emergent literacy abilities of children with ASD. The case report is described in depth and emphasizes the key factors to consider when designing an assessment battery and protocol. Results: The case example information is interpreted, and its application is discussed. Key outcomes are highlighted including a greater understanding of the child's literacy strengths and needs and the implications for individualized instruction. Conclusion: The clinical tutorial highlights the need for a comprehensive, well-planned assessment approach that involves all members of the educational team, and that is considerate to the needs of the individual child and responsive to their communication needs.

Background: As a group, autistic children with high support needs (with adaptive functioning in the range of an intellectual disability) are at risk of significant literacy difficulties. We investigated the parent‐reported home literacy environment of this group of children. Method: Sixty‐two parents of autistic children (4.5 to 18.25 years) attending an autism‐specific school completed a home literacy survey reporting on their child's: (1) alphabet knowledge, (2) interest in reading, (3) activities/interactions around books, (4) reading ability, and (5) writing ability. Results: We found significant positive correlations between parent‐reported child interest in reading and literacy‐related interactions and skills, but not with child age. Children using spoken words to communicate obtained significantly greater scores on four home‐literacy subscales, but not on reading interest. Conclusions: A better understanding of the home literacy activities of autistic children with high‐support needs is needed to inform educational practices aimed at promoting literacy development in this vulnerable population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three classroom teachers and their 23 students with significant developmental disabilities were studied across 8 weeks as a new literacy and communication instructional program, "MEville" to "WEville," was implemented. Before and after the implementation, the students were tested on a variety of literacy measures, their teachers were interviewed, and each classroom was observed. During the implementation, each classroom was observed at least once each week for a total of 35 hours of observation. Measured outcomes and benefits of the "MEville" to "WEville" program were evident for the students in each classroom. Students demonstrated increases in their attempts to initiate and sustain social interactions, and improvements in their literacy skills and understandings. Although observed differences did not reach statistical significance, the outcomes represent a significant practical difference for the children in the current study. (Contains 2 tables.)

Purpose: This study examined the vocabulary words and multiword sequences used by 124 typically developing kindergarten and 1st-grade students when they wrote about self-selected topics. The study extends previous research by examining the vocabulary used in different genres. Method: A total of 457 writing samples were analyzed. The samples were classified according to 9 genres and were analyzed using the Child Language Analysis (MacWhinney, 2006) software program. Results: The authors found that 140 words represented 70% of the vocabulary produced. The most common genre types were narrative recounts and opinions. The patterns of frequency for words and multiword sequences varied across genres. The degree of variation was greater for particular vocabulary words. For instance, the word "going" was used predominantly in 1 genre. In contrast, the word "mom" was used in every genre except 3. The structure words tended to be used with high frequency across genres. Conclusion: The word lists generated can be used to inform vocabulary selection, organization, and instruction for students with complex communication needs who are beginning writers.

Background: This study examined the narrative vocabulary of typically developing children for the purpose of guiding vocabulary selection for children with complex communication needs. Method: Eight children in their first year of schooling (aged 5 years 0 months to 5 years 8 months) and 10 children in their second year of schooling (aged 6 years 0 months to 7 years 2 months) generated story retell, personal, and script narratives. These were analysed using the Child Language Analysis (MacWhinney, 2008) program. Results: Several words occurred with high frequency across all tasks. Other words were more specific to particular tasks and topics. In the story-retelling task, the majority of the unique words used were from the original story. However, of the total words available in the original story, only a small proportion was used. Conclusions: Some of the high frequency words overlapped with those included in existing wordlists. However, other words were unique to this study. The wordlists generated will provide a useful resource that can be used alongside existing wordlists to guide decision making around vocabulary selection for children with complex communication needs. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

This study provides insights into the benefits of phoneme awareness intervention for children with complex communication needs (CCN). The specific aims of the study were: (1) to determine whether phoneme awareness skills can be successfully trained in children with CCN; and (2) to observe any transfer effects to phoneme awareness tasks not directly targeted during intervention, and to the encoding and decoding of printed words. Two children participated in the study: Scott, aged 7 and Anna, aged 10. Prior to intervention, both children exhibited poor phoneme awareness knowledge and severely delayed written language skills. Scott received 7 hours of intervention that focused on improving his phoneme identity skills and his letter-sound knowledge. Anna received 11 hours of intervention that focused on improving her phoneme segmentation and manipulation skills. Results indicated that both children responded favourably to the phoneme awareness intervention, demonstrating improved performance on trained tasks compared with untrained control measures. Anna generalised phoneme segmentation skills to novel words. Both children, however, demonstrated little or no generalisation to different versions of the same tasks or to other phoneme awareness and literacy tasks. Further research is required to ascertain the extent of generalisation that is possible for children with CCN.

There is increasing awareness of the high levels of support needed for literacy learning for children on the autism spectrum. Although research has investigated the quality of the classroom literacy environment, little attention has been paid to examining the classroom literacy environment in specialist classrooms catering specifically for children on the spectrum. The current study used the Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) to guide observations, combined with stimulated recall and semi-structured teacher interviews to explore the classroom environments and teacher practices used to support children on the spectrum. Ten teachers from two primary specialist schools participated. The findings highlighted the strong focus on language development and foundational literacy skills across the early years in both schools. Findings demonstrated the potential utility of an observation checklist such as the ELLCO in guiding observations when augmented by stimulated recall interviews. Suggestions are provided for assessing the literacy environment in specialist classrooms for children on the spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Language is the common thread underlying speaking, listening, reading, and writing. For children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), a solid foundation in language and communication is essential to active literacy learning across grades. This article examines the language and literacy relationship for children who use AAC. It describes the language and literacy development of these children, highlights intrinsic and extrinsic learning challenges, examines the communication-based literacy learning experiences of these children, and addresses the important role of language and communication in the literacy curricula of classroom settings. Ideas for fostering AAC, language, and literacy connections are presented.

Background: Many adults with intellectual disabilities have receptive and expressive communication difficulties. This paper develops new descriptors to classify communication skills and explore their utility and application in a large group of adults. Methods: This descriptive study collected information from 455 adults residing in supportedliving services. All residents were classified by their clinical team using the new classification system with a receptive language and expressive language descriptor. Results: Sixty-four percent (n = 291) of residents could understand words/phrases or beyond, with 21% (n = 96) at a prelinguistic level of receptive language functioning. With regard to expressive communication, one third of residents expressed themselves at the prior or unique intentional level of expressive communication (33%, n = 151), with only 35% (n = 159) able to express at a basic conversation level or above. Conclusion: This study offers unique communication profiles of a large cohort of adults with intellectual disabilities. Consistent descriptions of receptive and expressive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the appropriateness and benefits of implementing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) with children under the age of five. It outlines a number of myths related to the use of AAC with young children and examines the existing evidence base in order to identify the modes of AAC that have been shown to be effective. Finally, the paper provides suggestions of where to begin with early intervention involving AAC with reference to key research findings and advice from field experts. These suggestions include following language progression models based on typical language development, focusing on highly motivating interactions to teach the power of communication, providing communication partners with robust coaching, having high expectations, using a multimodal approach, targeting operational skills alongside communication intervention, and providing extensive aided language input. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]