Honors Theses
Date of Award
2009
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Communication Sciences and Disorders
First Advisor
Lennette Ivy
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
This study had two main purposes. The first purpose was to determine which communicative treatment approach: Total Communication (TC) or the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) was more effective in increasing the vocabulary growth of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The second purpose of this study was to determine which approach was preferred by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to increase vocabulary growth. In order to address the first research question for this study, two preschool age (3-5 year old) children enrolled in speech-language therapy at the University of Mississippi Speech and Hearing Center were selected as participants. In order to address the second research question for this study, 25 experienced SLPs were selected as participants. Due to the fact this was a small case study carried out with only two participants, it was unclear as to which approach was the most effective for increasing vocabulary growth. However, results showed an increase in initiated conversation for both participants with a greater increase using the TC approach. The results from the questionnaire, on the other hand, indicated that the SLP respondents believed the PECS approach to be more effective in increasing vocabulary growth of children with ASD than the TC approach.
Recommended Citation
Cooper, Ruth Ann, "Total Communication or the Picture Exchange Communication System? Increasing the Vocabulary Growth of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)" (2009). Honors Theses. 2192.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2192
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