ASHA Autism article

This article was set up in four parts. The first part is an introduction to Autism and what Speech-Language professionals can do to help those who have it. Those that have Autism communicate in divers ways and means. They may use gestures, facial expressions, sign language, vocalizations, or various communication devices. Because of that, there are almost countless ways to be able to help those with Autism communicate. And while no two people with Autism are exactly the same, what SLP’s need to figure out is how to help each person to best suite their needs. A common and effective tool for SLP’s working with those with Autism are aided augmentative and alternative communication devices.

The rest of the article features three different kids that have Autism and what the SLP’s that worked with them did to help them effectively communicate. I won’t go into detail about what worked with each kiddo, but I will say that they had SLP’s that didn’t give up on them. The main thing for me to take from this article is that I need to get to know my clients and what things would help them best. Sometimes it will be a long, tough road and sometimes it will be the most simple of things that will help my future clients learn how to communicate.

The article can be found here: http://www.asha.org/Publications/leader/2010/100119/AutismCaseStudies.htm