Visual Language in Autism

From The Critics

Reviewer: Melissa Bloomer Fichter, MA(George Washington University)
Description: This is an introduction to a Visual Immersion Program (VIP), developed by the authors based on clinical research highlighting the typically strong visual processing skills of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), to teach language through the child's daily experiences. This book reviews typical fundamentals of communication and language acquisition, offers approaches to the evaluation of progress and programmatic changes to meet each child's needs, outlines the three models of the VIP, and provides special considerations (e.g., assistive technology, inclusive classrooms, controlling inappropriate behavior, etc.) for use with the program.
Purpose: According to the authors, VIP was created due to the nonfunctional use of communication on a day-to-day basis for children with ASD who are taught using some of the current programs of instruction. VIP uses visual materials as the backbone of its instructional program. There are three modes: Visual Expressive Mode (VEM), which uses visual symbols for expressive communication; Visual Instructional Mode (VIM), which uses visual symbols as a sustained referent to support comprehension of spoken language; and Visual Organizational Mode (VOM), which uses visual symbols to represent the organization of an activity, script, or schedule. The authors' goal is to share their approach with the growing community of people who work to help individuals with ASD maximize personal communication skills. Given the increasing amount of literature circulating in public realms on intervention programs for persons with ASD, this book is easy to read, with terminology defined, and the VIP methodology is clear and concise. The authors provide some specific examples of how to implement their program as well as suggestions of how to work with individuals with special considerations. Although this program is not novel in its entirety, mirroring some other visually orientated instructional techniques, the book provides concrete suggestions of how to implement a visual program for teaching language to persons with ASD in the home, school, and community.
Audience: "The authors are practitioners and researchers in the area of autism spectrum disorders and they write the book for the "ever growing community of people who share a desire to help individuals with ASD maximize personal communication skills, including teachers, teacher assistants, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, psychologists, and parents." The book provides a brief overview of the fundamentals of communication and language acquisition, which is useful for parents and other instructors who do not have a background in typical language development. It then explains the basic underlying information necessary for instructors to implement the program, briefly outlines the VIP, and provides a series of example scenes, with a step-by-step procedure for each, in chapter 6. "
Features: The book provides the basic information necessary to understand how language is developed, briefly discusses the typical deficits seen in persons with ASD, identifies some drawbacks of current programs of instruction, provides assessment strategies and key assessment principles when working with persons with ASD, briefly outlines the program, and provides special considerations while implementing it. It also concisely reviews communication fundamentals, displays vivid pictures in color, and provides five appendixes for assessment/profile purposes. The book is accompanied by a CD that contains printable versions of the Monarch Natural Language Assessment, Experiential Knowledge Profile, and Key Factors in Selecting an Electronic Communication Device. Due to the concise nature of this book, some terminology is not defined, and often blanket statements regarding ASD are made without previous introduction or explanation of the theoretical underpinnings.
Assessment: This is a book for teachers, professionals, and parents who are unfamiliar with or have just a basic understanding of how to use visual symbols to supplement language instruction. The VIP provides useful gestalt ideas for teaching language using the typical heightened visual capacity of persons with ASD. The most useful information is on special considerations when working with a person with ASD (e.g., controlling inappropriate behaviors, inclusive classrooms, using visual symbols inside and outside the home), the appendixes, and the CD with printable profiles/assessment charts.