Abstract
Purpose: Children with complex communication needs who require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) strategies to communicate have difficulty participating in interactions with their peers. Integrating a collaborative learning framework with art activities may facilitate social interactions between children with complex communication needs and their peers.
Method: A single-subject withdrawal design was utilised to examine the impact of collaborative art activities on reciprocal social interactions between 2 dyads of participants with complex communication needs and their same-age peers. Additional dependent variables included the roles of participants with complex communication needs in interactions (initiator or responder), AAC modalities (unaided, aided, natural speech), and engagement.
Result:Tau-U calculations for Dyad 1 demonstrated 64% improvement from baseline, indicating moderate effects with the collaborative art activity (Intervention One) and 100% improvement, indicating strong effects following the activity enhanced with photography (Intervention Two). Dyad 2 demonstrated 100% improvement from baseline following Intervention One and 96% improvement following Intervention Two, indicating strong effects.
Conclusion: Both collaborative art activities demonstrated potential for facilitating social interactions for children with complex communication needs and their peers.
Supplemental material
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2021.1955973.
Correction Statement
This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
Notes
1 The Accent 800 is a product of the Prentke Romich Company, Wooster, OH, www.prentrom.com
2 The iPad and iPod are products of Apple Computers Inc., Cupertino, CA, www.apple.com
3 GoTalk Now is a product of the Attainment Company, Verona, WA, www.attainmentcompany.com