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Contribution to Book
Communication Development of Children with Visual Impairment and Deafblindness: A Synthesis of Intervention Research
International Review of Research in Developmental Disabilities (2014)
  • Amy T. Parker, Western Oregon University
  • Sarah E. Ivy, Vanderbilt University
Abstract
This chapter reports the results of a synthesis of research on educational interventions to improve early and emergent communication skills, both expressive and receptive, for children and youth with visual impairment and deafblindness, birth to 22 years of age. A search of electronic databases and recently published systematic reviews returned 34 articles published from January 2000 to August 2013 meeting inclusion criteria. Intervention studies focused primarily on communication partner training (n= 12), microswitch use (n= 10), or object symbol use (n= 7). The majority of researchers used experimental single-subject methods (n= 21, 62%) to examine efficacy of intervention to improve expressive communication skill. Results are discussed in terms of student characteristics, settings for intervention, critical procedural parameters, and targeted communication skills. Key conclusions for practitioners and researchers include individualizing interventions based on student preferences, ensuring the accessibility of materials and communication partners, implementing interventions within meaningful and naturalistic daily routines, training communication partners to be responsive, and designing and implementing high-quality research to identify evidence-based practices for communication interventions.
Publication Date
2014
Editor
Deborah D. Hatton
Series
46
DOI
10.1016/B978-0-12-420039-5.00006-X
Citation Information
Parker, A.T. & Ivy, S. (2014). Communication Development of Children with Visual Impairment and Deafblindness: A Synthesis of Intervention Research. In D.D. Hatton (Eds.) Special Issue: “Current Issues in the Education of Students with Visual Impairments”, International Review of Research in Developmental Disabilities.