Facilitating Communication in Nonverbal Students with Autism

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Many students with Autism have limited-to-no verbal communication skills. With limited-verbal and non-verbal students, it is imperative to explore every possible communication avenue to not only facilitate expression of wants and needs but also to encourage back-and-forth conversation between a student and his/her peers, family, teachers, etc. Typically, students with Autism are better visual processors than they are auditory processors. Using assistive technology at home and in the classroom gives these students information through their strongest processing area (visual). Giving these students a “voice” typically results in higher expectations from all interacting with the student. Most importantly, it improves the student’s quality of life.
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To the left are resources for facilitating communication with Augmentative and Alternative Communication Devices (AAC Devices) in nonverbal students with Autism.

I have created a webpage (link entitled, "List of Communication Devices") for parents, students, and teachers of Communication Devices that have helped my family and some of my special needs students. Please check it out to see the latest and greatest devices out there designed just for your child!
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If you are curious about assistive technology and which type of technology meets the needs of your child/ student, please review the article "Assistive Technology for Children With Autism" (Written by Susan Stokes under a contract with CESA 7 and funded by a discretionary grant from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction).
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Social Stories help children with special needs to better understand their various environments and the roles they are expected to play in those environments. You can create a social story at home with pictures of your child or you can use a website like Sandbox Learning to customize a cartoon social story (customizing the physical appearance and text of the story to pertain to your student). Sandbox Learning has social stories targeting everything from using an AAC device to flying on an airplane. To the left is a link to the Sandbox Learning site. If you sign up, you can download and print one FREE customized social story. After that, you can pay $8.99 (less than what you'd pay at a bookstore for your average children's book) to create and print stories about your child using their program.
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DynaVox by Mayer Johnson is a pioneer in the area of communication devices for individuals with varying needs. The DynaVox link to the left has very helpful information on AAC devices, news articles on AAC devices, a list of the devices they make for individuals, videos of individuals using the devices, and information on funding if you cannot afford to pay for a device out of pocket.