An online community of practice to improve intervention for individuals with complex communication needs

Abstract

Collaboration and information sharing are essential in the fast moving world of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). This paper describes communities of practice, justifies their need in AAC, and introduces the Communication Matrix Community of Practice (CMCoP)—an online community of practice for professionals and family members supporting individuals at the earliest stages of communication development. Stakeholders share the goal of advancing language and communication intervention for individuals with complex communication needs. Features of the CMCoP include a community forum for discussing and sharing information; collections of posts by professionals and nonprofessionals on various topics; an events calendar of AAC-related activities relevant to stakeholders; and a shared science section offering portraits of the communication skills of various populations with severe communication disorders. The utility of these and other CMCoP features in supporting the implementation of AAC assessment and intervention strategies is discussed.

Keywords:

• Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)
• community of practice
• complex communication needs

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the many individuals with complex communication needs, their family members, and professionals who have participated in this research. This submission is a component of a study conducted during the first author’s doctoral programme.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported in part by grants H327A110010 and H327S130010 from the U.S. Department of Education.