Presenter: Nadiya Destiny Case Study: Andre

Variables Dependent Variable  Making a choice Independent Variable  Use of Picture Symbols versus using a voice output communication aide (VOCA) Alternating Treatment Design  Determine which form of augmentative communication is best for the student

The Participant Andre  4 year old  Mental Retardation  Speech and language difficulties  Receives 30 minutes of speech therapy each week  Receives 30 minutes of occupational therapy each week  Receives 10 hours in a specialized preschool classroom each week

The Student’s Strengths Make choices consistently Attention span increased from two to four minutes Follow one-step directions Wonderful imagination that comes through in his play Sort by color and shape Count verbally to three Identify picture symbols and photographs Vocalize words following a model (computer, spoken, etc.)

The Student’s Weaknesses Babbles, but words are unable to be understood Fine motor skills Sharing toys

Setting: Otterbein Preschool Otterbein Preschool  Specialized preschool that serves children between three to five years old  Placed after evaluation by the clinic team at Yorkshire Center  All students have a cognitive disorder and a speech and language disorder  Some have fine motor, gross motor, visual, and/or hearing needs as well  Most students live in the York City School District

Setting: Physical Environment Second floor in a church Classroom divided into several areas including:  Circle Area  Table Play Area  Centers (based on current learning unit)  Snack Area  Sensory Area Sessions occurred in the snack area, table play area, and centers

Setting: Classroom Staff Each day the teacher and paraprofessional were in the classroom Additional support staff included:  Speech and Language Pathologist – Mondays  Occupational Therapist – Mondays  Physical Therapist – Wednesdays  Instructional Advisor – Varied  Classroom Psychologist – Varied Second classroom located downstairs

Materials Chart used to collect data Sentence strip  “I want ________ please.”  BoardMaker symbol for available choices VOCA programmed with available choices  DynaMyte  Array of up to 25 images

Design Alternative Treatment Design  Dependent Variable  Choicemaking  Independent Variable  Use of a communication aid to make choices  Use of picture symbols to make choices  Question  What is the best method for this student to make clear choices?

General Procedure: General Description Data collected for 11 days Two sessions  Snack Time  One-on-One Time Three opportunities to make a choice each day 33 observable choices Occurred on different days of the week to ensure better variability First Intervention  Picture Symbols – IP Second Intervention  VOCA - IV

General Procedure: Snack Week 1 Two choices  Snack  Drink Snack supervisor  “What do you want for snack?”  Point to choices and label Andre pointed to choice Snack supervisor prompts him to say full sentence by modeling and pointing  Second adult physically prompt to point and speak

General Procedure: One-On-One Session Week 1 Adult  Asks – “What would you like to do?”  Labels two choices Andre makes choice between two Adult models the sentence

General Procedure: Week 2 Use of the VOCA was implemented Pointed to his choice on the VOCA Chose images on VOCA to complete the sentence

Data Collection Snack Data Form  Chart with 15 boxes containing three rows  Top row left blank to put the date in  Other two rows contained a positive and negative sign One-on-One Data Collection  “Y” for yes  “N” for no  Index card staple to other forms Appropriate choices  Andre readily accepted his choice  Did not push choice away or refuse to participate in the activity Some anecdotal records were kept on the form or index card when necessary

Research Question What is the best method for this student to use to make choices – voca or picture symbols? Results:  Both interventions were successful  No difference between the two