Effects of simultaneous communication in a child-directed treatment approach with preschoolers with severe disabilities

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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine if signed and/or spoken symbols could be successfully trained in a child-oriented treatment approach with five preschoolers with various disabilities. The influence of this treatment on several parameters of linguistic and sociocommunicative ability was measured in an ABAB withdrawal design. Although unique subject patterns emerged, results indicated that overall: (a) the child-directed treatment setting provided an effective context in which to train signed and/or spoken symbols; (b) both linguistic and sociocommunicative aspects of the subjects' language development were positively influenced during the treatment. A determination of how each of the major treatment components (i.e., child-led orientation and simultaneous input) individually affected subject performance remains for future investigation.