Children With Cortical/Cerebral Visual Impairment and Speech and Motor Impairments Who Use Augmentative and Alternative Communication: A Retrospective, Longitudinal Examination of School Records.

PURPOSE: This longitudinal, retrospective study addresses the extent to which changes in functional vision, as measured by the CVI Range, are associated with changes in other developmental areas, specifically communicative competencies and the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) modes and access methods.

METHOD: Twelve students with cortical/cerebral visual impairment (CVI) and severe speech and motor impairments who rely on AAC strategies, tools, and technologies to communicate participated in the study. All participants were enrolled at The Bridge School in Hillsborough, CA, between the school years 2012-2013 and 2018-2019. The school's interprofessional collaborative team delivered an integrated, individualized educational program for students that included specific accommodations for CVI and the use of AAC. In this study, archived student records were reviewed using a systematic coding scheme.

RESULTS

Results showed that at the end of the study, all children's CVI Range scores improved. In addition, the measured areas related to communicative competence (i.e., social, linguistic, operational, strategic) also improved. The results for AAC modes and access methods varied, reflecting each student's uniqueness.

CONCLUSIONS

Results support the need for speech-language pathologists, educators, and other service providers to offer these children opportunities to improve their use of vision. The results suggest that improvement in functional vision is strongly correlated with improvement across other areas of development, specifically related to communication competence. Students whose functional vision scores were lowest at baseline showed the greatest improvement, highlighting the importance of early identification and intervention for CVI. Clinical implications were discussed.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.29716511.