JCPSLP Vol 18 no 2 July 2016

services/Communication-and-Assistive-Technology/ electronic-communication-devices-scheme 10+1 Community request cards I just had to list an “eleven” because request cards are my favourite! It is empowering for people to be able to independently interact with the wider community and have them interact back directly! Anyone can use them and we even took some on our family trip to Japan. Such a simple concept, but they have so many uses. I have one lady that I support who has a set with such diverse comments as “I am just browsing. I will let you know if I require some help” and “Does that product come with a warranty?” right down to “Can I get a $20.00 top up on my Vodaphone please?” She told me that when she goes into Priceline, she has staff racing all over the place finding things for her. She feels

wonderful and never has to ask her father to purchase personal products for her any more. Sometimes the simple things in life really are the best! Author statement Janice is employed by Scope which publishes some resources mentioned in this Top 10. She has no commercial interest in any of the resources presented or businesses mentioned.

Correspondence to: Janice Buckland, speech pathologist Scope Shannon Park, Victoria phone: 03 5221 5444 email: jbuckland@scopevic.org.au

Around the journals

Plesa Skwerer, D., Jordan, S. E., Brukilacchio, B. H., & Tager-Flusberg, H. (2015). Comparing methods for assessing receptive language skills in minimally verbal children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders . Autism . Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/1362361315600146 Amelia Edwards Assessing the receptive language of minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder is both a challenge for clinicians and an area that has not been widely explored within existing literature. This study compared and contrasted several different assessment approaches, including standardised direct assessment of receptive language, caregiver reporting, eye-tracking assessment, and a computerised touch-screen assessment. Although all of the participants within the study were considered “minimally verbal”, the results of the study indicated that there was significant variation across the participants in terms of receptive language skills. There was also significant heterogeneity in performance across the various assessment methods, with the authors highlighting that there was not a clear assessment approach that presented clear advantages given the variability of performance across participants. While the computerised tasks (touch-screen and eye-tracking assessments) are still considered experimental, and further research is required, this study highlights the exciting possibility of combining computerised assessment of receptive language with more traditional assessment measures (e.g., standardised formal assessment and caregiver report). Ultimately, if computerised tasks can be implemented into assessment practices in the future, they may provide clinicians with a more comprehensive understanding of the receptive language skills of individuals on the autism spectrum.

Radford, J., Bosanquet, P., Webster, R., & Blatchford, P. (2015). Scaffolding learning for independence: Clarifying teacher and teaching assistant roles for children with special education needs. Learning and Instruction , 36 (1), 1–10. Bonnie Kang Increasing numbers of teacher assistants (TAs) working with children with special educational needs (SEN) bring new challenges and opportunities. This article uses a sociocultural approach to propose an effective scaffolding model for TA interaction during instruction for children with SEN. Conversational analysis of audio and video recordings taken from three UK studies of TA interactions with children with SEN during maths and literacy classes in mainstream schools revealed three effective scaffolding roles: (1) the repair role, in which TAs prompted and cued students to find solutions to breakdowns when they occurred, without providing the direct answer (e.g., a verbal cue to find a word); (2) the support role in which TAs used strategies (e.g., cuing, prompting, giving instructions) to gain and maintain students’ interest during learning activities; and (3) the heuristic role in which TAs modelled and encouraged students to use learning strategies to solve problems independently. The authors identify strategies for achieving best learning outcomes for children with SEN including ensuring teacher and TA discussion and planning, ongoing TA scaffolding training, and reviewing whether TA educational qualifications are consistent with TA roles and expectations. The authors also recommend that future research examine the impact of peer scaffolding on learning and learner contribution during scaffolding. This is an insightful article that would interest speech pathologists working in school settings.

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JCPSLP Volume 18, Number 2 2016

Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology