Communicating Without Speech

This book is aimed at health professionals treating children who fail to develop adequate speech due to complex neurological conditions or learning disabilities and may require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems. By presenting current research and accepted good practise in the field of AAC authors give detailed information on the neurology of speech and language, and offer guidelines for the assessment of non-speaking children. Issues of prognosis for speech, the timing of intervention and the importance of working within a multidisciplinary framework are discussed. The central role of families and schools in the successful introduction and support of AAC for social communication and curriculum access is recognised. A range of AAC systems and resources are described, and the views of AAC users and their families represented. This will be essential reading for clinicians who treat non-speaking children, and the therapists and other professionals who support these children.