title: Using a speech-generating device to enhance communicative abilities for an adult with moderate intellectual disability.
abstract: For adults with disabilities who are unable to speak, the literature recommends that intervention include augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to improve communication and interactions with others. Some adults with moderate intellectual disabilities who exhibit limited functional speech are often overlooked as candidates for AAC interventions because they have some speech abilities. The perception is that they are too old to improve their language and communication skills. This article presents a case report of a 30-year-old woman with a moderate intellectual disability and a severe expressive language disorder who uses a speech-generating device as a compensatory strategy to facilitate her communicative abilities, independence, and self-determination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Communication, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30302-4000, USA.
authors.forename: Melissa A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cheslock
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barton-Hulsey
authors.forename: Maryann
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romski
authors.forename: Rose A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Sevcik
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003142:Communication; D003143:Communication Devices for People with Disabilities; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia; D006801:Humans; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D007807:Language Tests; D008484:Medicaid; D013062:Speech Articulation Tests; D014481:United States