1. 5 Levels of Communication
Level 1: Awareness
Level 2: Pre-symbolic
Level 3: Early Symbolic
Level 4: Symbolic
Level 5: Basic
Adapted from Browder, Wakeman, and Flowers, AERA Presentation 2007

2. Adapted from Browder, Wakeman, and Flowers, AERA Presentation 2007
Level 1: Awareness
Students at the awareness level may have no clear response and no clear intent or objective in communication.
They communicate pleasure, displeasure and state of being by such means as:
Postural shifting
Limb movements
Head movements
Facial expressions
Vocalization
Adapted from Browder, Wakeman, and Flowers, AERA Presentation 2007

3. Adapted from Browder, Wakeman, and Flowers, AERA Presentation 2007
Level 1: Awareness
When teaching students at the awareness level:
Respond to communicative attempts as if they were intentional (Use shaping to build intentional communication.)
Give opportunities to respond before prompting
Use real objects when possible
Expose them to symbols and words
Teach broad access skills
Model, Model, Model, and Model
Adapted from Browder, Wakeman, and Flowers, AERA Presentation 2007

4. Adapted from Browder, Wakeman, and Flowers, AERA Presentation 2007
Level 2: Pre-Symbolic
Students at the pre-symbolic level demonstrate purposeful, intentional communication but do not yet use symbolic communication.
They communicate by such means as:
Gestures
Eye gaze
Purposeful moving to object
Sounds
Adapted from Browder, Wakeman, and Flowers, AERA Presentation 2007

5. Adapted from Browder, Wakeman, and Flowers, AERA Presentation 2007
Level 3: Early Symbolic
Students at the early symbolic are beginning to use symbols for communication with limited vocabulary.
They communicate by such means as:
Objects
Tactile symbols
Digital photographs
Picture icons
Adapted from Browder, Wakeman, and Flowers, AERA Presentation 2007

6. Adapted from Browder, Wakeman, and Flowers, AERA Presentation 2007
Level 3: Early Symbolic
Students demonstrate their knowledge through active and purposeful manipulation of materials
Students demonstrate the ability to predict an action or to connect related objects or materials when given a concept
Adapted from Browder, Wakeman, and Flowers, AERA Presentation 2007

7. Adapted from Browder, Wakeman, and Flowers, AERA Presentation 2007
Level 4: Symbolic
Students demonstrate emerging knowledge of symbols and have beginning functional academic skills
Students may begin to use some symbols including objects, pictures, and a few sight words, picture based daily activities schedule. Views pictures and listens to stories
May recognize numbers and understand concepts of everyday math
Adapted from Browder, Wakeman, and Flowers, AERA Presentation 2007

8. Adapted from Browder, Wakeman, and Flowers, AERA Presentation 2007
Level 4: Symbolic
Students at the symbolic level speak or have a vocabulary of signs, pictures to communicate
They communicate by such means as:
Speech
ASL
Dynamic Display Devices with an extensive
vocabulary
Adapted from Browder, Wakeman, and Flowers, AERA Presentation 2007

9. Adapted from Browder, Wakeman, and Flowers, AERA Presentation 2007
Level 4: Symbolic
Students actively demonstrate knowledge of concepts through actions or words
Students use symbols to communicate (e.g., pictures) or words (e.g., spoken words, Assistive Technology, American Sign Language, etc.,)
Adapted from Browder, Wakeman, and Flowers, AERA Presentation 2007

10. Level 5: Basic Early Academic Skills
Reads with some fluency and understanding
Applies simple computational procedures to solve real-life or routine word problems
Does basic computation procedures with or without a calculator
Able to follow directions with limited prompting/cues
Would be a strong candidate for the future Modified Assessment

11. Adapted from Browder, Wakeman, and Flowers, AERA Presentation 2007
Adapt the Content
Apply levels of symbol use to guide instruction
Work Across Symbolic Levels of Communication
Rule of Thumb
Begin with content standard at grade level; how typical student would show understanding; typical materials/activities
Translate one level to Symbolic
Then translate to Early Symbolic
Then translate to Pre-Symbolic
Adapted from Browder, Wakeman, and Flowers, AERA Presentation 2007

12. Adapt the Content