ACQ Vol 11 no 2 2009

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Literacy
ACQ Volume 11, Number 2 2009 77
Language
comprehension
Word
identification
Print
processing
Silent reading
comprehension
This article
has been
peer-
reviewed
Sally Clendon
(top) and
Karen Erickson
Keywords
augmentative
and
alternative
communica­
tion (AAC)
complex
communica­
tion needs
literacy
no longer restricted to the vocabulary words that others
deem important, and can achieve independence in their
communication. This paper will discuss some of the key
principles that need to be employed in order to assist these
individuals to maximise their literacy potential and acquire the
literacy skills needed to become effective in both face-to-
face and written communication.
Providing comprehensive literacy
instruction
Beginning literacy instructional programs must be
comprehensive and address all of the constructs involved in
reading and writing. Cunningham’s (1993) Whole-to-Part
Model of Silent Reading Comprehension highlights the
constructs that are believed to underlie successful silent
reading comprehension and comprise comprehensive
reading instruction. These constructs, as depicted in figure
1, are word identification, language comprehension, and
print processing (see Cunningham, [1993], or Erickson,
Koppenhaver, & Cunningham, [2006] for a detailed
description of these constructs).
Historically, literacy programs designed for individuals
with developmental disabilities have tended to focus on
only a few constructs. For many years, for example, there
was a prevailing belief that individuals with developmental
disabilities, particularly those with cognitive disabilities,
could be taught to read sight words, but that they could not
learn to decode words using phonics-based strategies. The
literacy instruction that these individuals received tended to
focus on whole-word recognition and limited attention was
placed on the internal make-up of words. Consequently, they
This article outlines some of the key principles
underlying effective literacy instruction for
individuals with complex communication
needs. These principles include: (a) the need
for a comprehensive approach to instruction
that addresses all of the constructs involved in
literacy learning; (b) the need for direct
intervention that focuses on an individual’s
area of greatest need; (c) the need to address
language and literacy simultaneously; and (d)
the need to maintain high levels of cognitive
engagement while offering repetition with
variety.
Literacy skills are extremely important in today’s society
and most would agree that being able to read and
write effectively is essential for learning, personal
development, and employment success. Perhaps there
is no other group of individuals who highlight the power
of literacy more compellingly than those with complex
communication needs. These individuals are unable to use
speech as their primary mode of communication and instead
rely on the introduction of some form of augmentative and
alternative communication (AAC) system. This may be an
unaided system such as sign, a low-tech system such as a
communication book or board, or a high-tech system such
as a computerised AAC device. Whichever system is used,
literacy skills are critical in AAC because until individuals with
complex communication needs learn to spell conventionally,
it is extremely difficult for them to communicate words or
messages beyond those that are available to them in their
AAC system (Clendon, 2006).
Today computerised AAC devices have the capacity to
store large amounts of vocabulary. Programming every
possible word that an individual might need, however, is
problematic as the vocabulary becomes difficult to organise,
manage, and access (Erickson & Clendon, 2009). Instead,
it is common practice for educators, speech pathologists,
and parents to try and predict which words are sufficiently
important to warrant inclusion. Unfortunately, despite their
best intentions, the vocabulary words they select are often
inappropriate for the individual’s personality, situation,
and developmental profile (Carlson, 1981). In contrast,
when individuals with complex communication needs
develop conventional reading and writing skills, they are
Literacy instruction for
individuals with complex
communication needs
Sally Clendon and Karen Erickson
Figure 1. A simplified view of Cunningham’s
whole-to-part model