Abstract
The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods intervention study, conducted in an early intervention center and using a single-subject baseline-intervention design, was to investigate the impact of providing two young children identified as having language delay with a form of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to use during class time. The children’s classroom teacher and teaching assistants (TAs) received brief training on the use of the AAC. Measures of children’s communication, behavior, and engagement were collected prior to the introduction of the AAC and during weeks 1-6 of AAC use. At the end of the 6-week intervention, the teacher and TAs were individually interviewed to gain their perspectives on any changes they noted in the focus children over the course of the intervention. Results of the quantitative data analyses indicated that the use of AAC was associated with children’s increased communication complexity, increased levels of engagement, and a reduction in problem behaviors. Qualitative data from the teacher/TA interviews confirmed the foregoing results and also extended these results by noting additional impacts including increased social and learning opportunities and increased positive behaviors for the focal children as well as positive effects on other children in the classroom. The meta-inferences yielded through narrative and joint table analyses for the key constructs highlighted the cascading positive effects on children’s engagement, social interaction, and behavior, stemming from their improved communicative abilities when AAC was used to support communication. The findings emerging from the integration of quantitative and qualitative findings add to the small but growing evidence base on the use of AAC in early childhood classroom settings and point to the need for expanded professional development opportunities for early childhood educators and policy advances that support evolving best practices.