Augmentative communication systems taught to cerebral-palsied children--a longitudinal study. III. Teaching practices and exposure to sign and symbol use in schools and homes.

A longitudinal study of augmentative communication training with 40 language-impaired, cerebral-palsied children examined the teaching practices adopted in schools, and the extent to which teachers and parents used the augmentative systems with the children. The study found limited exposure to sign and symbol training in formal teaching sessions and in other school settings, and teachers made relatively few attempts to foster spontaneous use of the systems and generalisation outside of formal training settings. Exposure to augmentative communication in the children's homes was equally limited, and a significant number of parents expressed reservations about the value of the systems for their children. These findings may at least partly account for the children's limited progress in sign and symbol acquisition and use over an 18-month period, which was documented in two earlier reports.