The Efficacy of Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Ralf W. Schlosser holds a Ph.D. in Special Education with an emphasis in augmentative and alternative communication from Purdue University. He is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology at Northeastern University in Boston. He is also a Distinguished Switzer Fellow of the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) and a Fellow of the American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR). In 2001, Dr. Schlosser received the Editor Award for the Most Significant Research Article published in Augmentative and Alternative Communication for the paper entitled "Promoting generalization and maintenance in augmentative and alternative communication: A meta-analysis of 20 years of effectiveness research." This paper was recognized as a review of high methodological quality by the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness. Lyle L. Lloyd is a Fellow of the American Association on Mental Retardation, Fellow of ASHA, Honors of the Council for Exceptional Children Division for Children with Communication Disorders, and he was selected as the first distinguished alumni in the area of Communication Disorders and Sciences at Eastern Illinois University. He is Coordinator of the Steering Committee of ASHA Special Interest Division 12, AAC. As recognition of his significant contributions to the AAC field, Lloyd is the only person to receive both the President's Award 91988) and the Distinguished Service Award (1994) of ISAAC, both awards presented at Biennial Conferences. He has made more than 100 published contributions to the field, including authoring or co-authoring seven seminal books on AAC.

Introduction
Efficacy and Outcomes Measurement in Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Validity: The Foundation of Evaluating the Efficacy of Interventions
Formulating Research Questions
On the Subject of Selection in AAC
Single-Subject Experimental Designs
Group Designs
Longitudinal Designs
Determining the Treatment Integrity of AAC Interventions
Determining the Social Validity of AAC Interventions
Synthesizing Efficacy Research in AAC
Toward Evidence-Based Practice in AAC
Presymbolic Communication Intervention
Selecting Graphic Symbols for an Initial Request Lexicon
Effects of AAC on Natural Speech Development
Application of Current Literacy Theory, Efficacy Research, and Clinical Practice to AAC Users
Efficacy of AAC Intervention in Individuals with Chronic Severe Aphasia
Roles of Speech Output in AAC
Evidence-Based Strategies for Promoting Generalization and Maintenance
Comparative Efficacy Studies Using Single-Subject Experimental Designs
Epilogue