Teaches students communication through pictures. used for nonspeakers or those with limited speech.

Example: struggling to make verbal requests, PECS uses pictures of desired items or needs to indicate students wants.

Implementation:

• Teach student to exchange pictures for designated items

• increase the complexity and introduce differenciated pictures and incorporate sentence structure

• use with consistent across all settings and with fidelity introducing various people or peers.

Evaluate:

Staff would monitor frequency and accuracy of documented picture exchanges. Analyzing if a student generalizes the skill in all scenarios and develops independent communication.

(PECS®: An Evidence-Based Practice -, 2023)

Provide descriptive scenarios describing social situations and appropriate responses to social interactions. Helping students understand social language cues and expectations in their environment.

Example: A student who struggles with impulsive behavior can read a social story about patience, calm body, and turn taking.

Implementation:

• Making a personalized story based on a students area of need.

• Read the story with the student regularly, ie prompting for a specific challenge

• model appropriate response to isolated incidents

• reenacting if necessary

• encourage practice of the skill

• reflect

Evaluation: Narrative or data driven observation specific to skill learned. Collecting data based on frequency of appropriate response.

(Social Stories and Autism, n.d.)

Provide a pictorial representation of daily activities/ expectations/ or schedules to reduce anxiety and create predictability within a students day.

Example: If a student demonstrates anxiety or frustration with changes in routines, a visual schedule can be created to allow for understanding of the days tasks creating structure.

Implementation:

• Create a schedule and icons to represent each task or activity within the day

• Review the schedule by frontloading the student at the start of the day

• Update the schedule as needed and use it as a reference throughout the day

Evaluation: Track students compliance and response to intervention. take note of any reduction in behavior or any new frustrations.

(Ccc-Slp, 2023)

Help students understand the sequence of activities. Great for transitions from preferred tasks to non-preferred tasks, providing visual representation of what is expected to limit resistance.

Example: A student who struggles with transitioning centers would benefit from a first this then that board to prompt the upcoming change in schedule. Thus, providing a visual to represent if you complete this then you can do that.

Implementation:

• Create a simple board with first then boxs

• Create pictures for expected tasks

• Place pictures in sequence of task completion. Current activity in the first box and new activity in the then box.

• Review the board and reference as necessary before and after transitions.

Evaluation: Monitor student compliance with designated transitions. Track any increase or decrease in behavior.

(Cooper et al., 2007)

token economies reinforce positive behavior expectations by allowing students to earn tokens for specific behaviors, which in turn can be exchanged for rewards.

Example: If a student is struggling to stay on task, they can earn a token for every 5 minutes that they are focused on their work or engaged in an activity. after earning a specified amount of tokes they can be exchanged for a preferred reinforcer or activity.

Implementation:

• Define the targeted behavior needing intervention

• Create a token board or system

• Explain the system or board to the student

• Award tokens for the desired behaviors

• Allow students to exchange the tokens for a preferred reinforcer or predetermined reward upon tokens earned.

Evaluate: Track tokens earned and rewarded each day. Assess an increase in targeted behavior over time designated for fidelity.

(Expert Columns: Use Token Economies to Provide Positive Reinforcement and Modify Behavior, n.d.)

This is an Augmentative and alternative communication application for the use on IPADs. It is intended to assist non-verbal or minimally speaking individuals to support communication.

Example: For a person who can not speak, they can use the application to construct sentences to express their wants and needs using pictures and text to speech.

Implementation:

• Download and install the application to an IPAD

• Customize the vocabulary to meet student needs

• Explicitly teach the student how to navigate the application and create messages

• Encourage usage across all settings to maintain consistency and exposure.

Evaluate: Monitor the frequency of usage as well as the complexity of messages. Data track improvements in ability to express ones-self and interactions with peers and adults.

(App Store, 2009)

This is a portable application for communication using recorded messages. This application would be useful to students who need simple supports.

Example: Asking for help or asking to play using pre recorded blurbs.

Implementation:

• Pre record messages into the GoTalk app or device relevant to the students skill set

• Teach the student how to press the appropriate buttons when needing to play a message

• Use the device in regular routines across all settings for modeling and acceptance

Evaluation: Tracking the students ability to independently use the device and appropriate usage of communicated messages.

(App Store, 2011)

This is an augmentative and alternative communication application using pictures and words to create phrases or sentences to assist students with autism develop language and communication skills.

Example: A student who has verbal communication challenges can use the application to build phrases or sentence to express wants and needs in a more complex way.

Implementation:

• Download and install the application to an IPAD

• Set up personalization for student vocabulary need

• Train the student how to use the application with modeling and guided practice

• Use the application across all settings with fidelity

Evaluation: Assess the frequency of usage and evaluate the students ability to initiate or maintain conversation with peers and adults.

(LAMP Words for Life®, n.d.)

This application is designed to support more complex communication needs. It offers a large vocabulary set which a customizable screen.

Example: A student with autism who has multiple complex communication needs can use the application to express thoughts or emotions with the click of a button.

Implementation:

• Install the application

• Personalize the home screen and adpat the vocabulary to students needs

• Provide as many opportunities for modeling, guidance, and expression using the application

• Encourage usage of the application at all times across all settings.

Evaluation: Data track the students ability to communicate efficiently in a variety of ways with appropriate expression and application usage. Measure any increased or decreased frustrations in communicating of wants and needs.

(Speak for Yourself AAC – Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) App: Changing the World, One Voice at a Time., n.d.)

A customizable communication application with a large vocabulary, language support, and text to speech voices. This application can also use head Tracking for those with mobility impairments.

Example: If a student is orthopedically impaired they can use the head and face tracking capability on an IPAD or Iphone which tracks simple movement to identify word choice and sentence creation, the application also speaks in different voices to meet the students needs.

Implementation:

• Download and install the application to an IPAD or IPhone

• Customize the vocabulary to meet student needs

• Assess need for head tracking if necessary

• Explicitly teach the student how to navigate the application and create messages

• Use modeling and guided support as necessary to meet students need

• Encourage usage across all settings to maintain consistency and exposure

Evaluate: Analyze the complexity of language learned and used to communicate with peers and adults. Track students ability to use the application independently. Track any decrease or increase in communication frustration.

(Prc-Saltillo, n.d.)