Enhancing Communication with Persons Labeled Severely Disabled

Abstract

Among the most important philosophical shifts in our perspective onpersons labeled severely disabled hasbeen a changefrom an exclusive emphasison remediation of deficit behavior to a positon ofempowering and enabling persons with disabilities to participate in all aspects of everyday living. Fundamental to that shift is the reconsideration of the role of persons without obvious disabilities. In this paper introducing a special issue on communication, weexamine the role ofcommunication partners in enhancing communication with persons labeledseverely disabled. Threefundamentalassumptions about the natureofcommunication are discussed. The papers contained in the volumeare reviewed briefly and recommendations for future research are considered.Effective communication requires highly integrative generalization and generative use of previously acquired elements of a communication system in the dynamic circumstances of meaningful social communicative exchanges. While we have made much progress in some areas, such as the development of strategies to teach specific forms of communicative behavior, in the use of alternative communication modes, the emergence of inclusion has underscored the need for new conceptualizations of the communication process and for new practices to achieve effective communication. We have facilitated fuller participation of persons with severe disabilities in typical settings by teaching new skills, by increasing the accessibility of buildings, by developing curricular adaptations, as well as by providing functional supports toward independent living and independent working. Yet the difficulties associated with full social integration have proven to be considerable and many of these difficulties arise from the differences in communication abilities between persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities. It is easy to see how the relatively more limited communication systems of persons with disabilities make entry and participation in everyday work and social interaction difficult. It is sometimes less easy to recognize that as typically communicating individuals, we impose additional barriers to inclusion when we are not fluent in sign language, when we do not make the required effort to understand and respond to the speech or gestures of a person with a communication disability, when we talk without allowing our partners to respond, or when we fail to speak more slowly,more simply, and more clearly in order to make ourselves understood. Communication occurs between two persons who negotiate the expression of meaning and sharing of information through a commonly understood system of representation (Nilson, 1970). The communication challenges in inclusion belong to persons with typical communication skills as well as to the persons who have more limited use of standard communicative modes. The Nature of CommunicationThree assumptions regarding the nature of communication underlie our understanding of the importance of communication with persons with severe disabilities.First, communica...

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“…Communication partners also affect the refinement of children's communication skills as a component of developing social competence [Marfo et al, 1998]. Children with limited communication skills require ongoing support to participate in conversational interactions and the challenge to provide this support rests with children's communicative partners [Kaiser and Goetz, 1993].…”

Self-Determination for Individuals with the Most Severe Disabilities: Moving beyond Chimera

“…Communication messages are received and interpreted within the framework of shared meaning (Kaiser & Goetz, 1993). Each receiver's own personal knowledge and experiences serve to assign meaning to the message.…”