This is a treatment approach fact sheet I created for my Autism Spectrum Disorders course. Functional Communication Training (FCT) is an evidenced based approach used to replace interrupting behaviors with more effective communication behaviors (Griffin & AFIRM Team, 2017). It is a principle of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) that promotes functional outcomes in social, communication, play, and school-readiness behaviors.
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Griffin, W., & AFIRM Team. (2017). Functional communication training. Chapel Hill, NC: National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder, FPG Child Development Center, University of North Carolina. Retrieved from http://afirm.fpg.unc.edu/functional-communication-training
This is a research proposal presentation I created in collaboration with Patricia Serrano, Kaitlyn Doktorczyk, and Sofia Capdevila for our Research class. The purpose of this study was to see if video modeling (VM) was an effective intervention to increase social communication via speech-generating devices in school settings. We hypothesized this method would be effect as VM has been shown to aid communication skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (Copple et al, 2011). We planned to implement VM with five participants using an ABAB in group settings to promote social communication skills. This project was beneficial to my learning in research development and evidence-based approaches for children with ASD.
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Copple, K., Koul, R., Banda, D., & Frye, E. (2011). Using Video Modeling Intervention and Speech Generating Devices To Teach Requesting Behaviors to Persons With Autism. Perspectives on Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 20(4), 109–113. https://doi.org/10.1044/aac20.4.109
This is a continuing education course I completed to increase my competency of pragmatic deficits in the adult population. This course reviewed Right Hemisphere Damage (RHD), apragmatism, social cognition, assessment, treatment, and clinical considerations. RHD can lead to deficits in attention, memory, executive function, awareness, discourse, social skills, and prosody. Unfortunately, pragmatic screenings for these individuals often fall through the cracks, leaving caregivers to report concerns with eye contact, greetings, prosody, empathy, behavior, and personality. Individuals with RHD often struggle with apragmatism, placing strain on their relationships and social interactions. It may be challenging for these individuals to understand and convey humor, sarcasm, non-literal language, tone, and non-verbal language like facial expressions. Those with RHD often have egocentric and tangential discourse. It is important that these pragmatic deficits are assessed, as these pragmatic skills are important to functional communication. Treatment should utilize 1:1 and group sessions that involve behavior modification, modeling, feedback, and generalization. Treatment may involve identifying communication breakdowns, understanding figurative language, perspective-taking, and role-playing social scenarios. Approaches like Attentive Reading and Constrained Summarization (ARCS) can be helpful in targeting topic maintenance. General cognitive therapy to target attention, memory, and executive function is another important element to support pragmatics. Lastly, caregiver and family education and training are crucial in the treatment of those with RHD. This course enhanced my understanding of the pragmatic deficits associated with RHD, the importance of assessing these skills, and the potential treatment options for this disorder.
Magee, K. (2023). Pragmatics and social cognition: clinical considerations for adults. SpeechPathology.com. Article 20638. Available at www.speechpathology.com