AAC – Case Study

Denise  is an eighth-grade girl with Down syndrome. She is currently in a specially designed school program at her middle school but is integrated with neurotypical peers throughout her day for lunch, homeroom, music, art, and PE. Denise is very sociable and enjoys being around her neurodiverse and neurotypical peers.  She enjoys talking to a variety of people and initiates conversation easily. However, Denise is very difficult to understand during conversation due to profound articulation and phonological errors.  Denise’s language skills are slightly below average and are a relative strength for her. Denise’s teachers, paraprofessionals, and family report that they can understand her at least 50% of the time, and sometimes more so when the context is known. Denise often uses gestures and facial expressions to help convey her messages.  When she is not understood, Denise gets very upset, rolls her eyes, and sometimes shuts down.  Due to fine motor difficulties, Denise’s writing legibility is very poor, but she is starting to learn how to type. Denise reads at a second-grade level and enjoys books about horses.  She is very motivated by and curious about her sister’s new iPhone!  Denise tried using a speech-generating device when she was younger. However, as she became more verbal, her family felt that it was no longer necessary.  Currently, her parents have inquired about what the team can do to support Denise when her communication breaks down.