JCPSLP Vol 14 No 2 2012

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Complex communication needs
JCPSLP Volume 14, Number 2 2012 103
to assess early communication, observable, and functional
skills. This can be purchased from the Scope on-line shop
at
InterAACtion: Strategies for Intentional and Unintentional
Communicators (2004) by Karen Bloomberg, Hilary
Johnson, and Denise West, are resources designed
for people who work with adults who have complex
communication needs. The InterAACtion manual provides
a framework for introducing a variety of communication
strategies to assist functional communication and extend
or develop communication skills, where appropriate. It
contains over 30 individualised communication strategies
as handouts, which can be photocopied. The handouts
include information about the strategy, who might use
it, how to develop it, how to implement it, and how to
adapt it for people with different communication skills. The
worksheets are designed to assist communication partners
to learn to observe communication skills and needs,
and make decisions about appropriate communication
strategies. The kit provides examples of the communication
The Communication Resource Centre is a service
of Scope. The Communication Resource Centre
provides information, advice, resources, and services
relating to the many different aspects of communication
disabilities. We aim to increase community awareness and
the involvement of people with communication difficulties
in their local and broader community. People with complex
communication difficulties either cannot speak or they have
speech that is difficult to understand. They use other ways
of communicating
site/resources/communicationaidsresources)
1 The Triple C (Checklist of
Communication Competencies) and the
InterAACtion resources (manual, DVD,
and kit)
The Triple C (revised edition, 2009) by Karen Bloomberg,
Denise West, Hilary Johnson, and Teresa Iacono is
designed for use with adolescents or adults with little or no
speech. It is a valid and reliable tool that makes it possible
Top 10 resources from
Scope’s Communication
Resource Centre
Some members of the Communication Resource Centre team