Interacting with peers through conversation turntaking with a communication book adaptation

Abstract

Three elementary-age students with severe disabilities were taught to initiate and maintain a conversation independently using pictures in a communication book to augment their speech. Instruction occurred across a variety of school settings with several age-appropriate regular education students serving as communication partners. An analysis of the extent to which newly acquired conversation skills generalized to settings and partners not included in instructional sessions revealed that generalization was limited until training of nondisabled peer participants was implemented. Nondisabled peers who served as generalization partners were taught a specific cueing strategy that promoted turntaking by the students with disabilities.

• aided approaches
• communication partners
• facilitators
• generalization