Abstract
Although the last decade has welcomed evidence that individuals with Rett syndrome (RTT) can communicate using alternative and augmentative communication (AAC), less is known about effective procedures for teaching various component skills required for expressive communication of individuals with complex communication needs. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of systematic individualized instruction procedures on the page-linking skills of individuals with RTT. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate independent and accurate responding utilizing both a high-tech and low-tech AAC device for three participants. All sessions were conducted in the participants’ homes by their parents with remote coaching from a researcher via telehealth. Results indicated that for all three participants, individualized procedures that included behavior chaining, differential reinforcement, and delayed prompting were effective for teaching page-linking in both a high-tech and a low-tech AAC device. Directions for future research and practice are discussed.
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Data are available upon request from the first author.
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This study was funded by grant #1R21DC015021.
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All authors contributed toward research conceptualization, study design, and data analysis. Data collection was performed by Shawn N. Girtler, Emily Unholz-Bowden, Alefyah Shipchandler, and Rebecca L. Kolb. Shawn N. Girtler, Emily Unholz-Bowden, and Alefyah Shipchandler contributed toward writing. Editing was performed by Rebecca L. Kolb and Jennifer J. McComas.
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This study was approved by the University of Minnesota’s Institutional Review Board. All ethics procedures and codes based on the Declaration of Helsinki, the Institutional Review Board, and the Behavior Analyst Certification Board Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts were followed during the study.
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Girtler, S.N., Unholz-Bowden, E.K., Shipchandler, A. et al. Use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication by Individuals with Rett Syndrome Part 1: Page-Linking. J Dev Phys Disabil 36, 125–145 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-023-09903-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-023-09903-x