Efficacy of Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Toward Evidence Based Practice is designed for individuals who are involved in the clinical and educational practice of, and research in, augmentative and alternative communication. To know which interventions work is at the core of what practitioners, stakeholders, and applied researchers seek to accomplish, namely to improve the communication skills of persons who use AAC. Knowledge about the efficacy of an intervention becomes significant, however, only when this evidence is integrated into decision-making as part of an evidence-based practice (EBP). Integrating this knowledge implicates the cornerstones of EBP, which are research evidence, stakeholder perspectives, and practitioner expertise. Because not all evidence is created equal in terms of certainty, EBP requires an appraisal of the evidence before us. EBP makes research immediately pertinent and gives renewed value to the work of researchers. At the same time, researchers depend upon practitioners and stakeholders for the very direction of their research questions. This book, for the first time in the AAC field, provides readers with essential tools for appraising evidence, outlines steps for planning and implementing better efficacy research, and helps develop the necessary skills for moving the filed toward EBP.

KEY FEATURES: * Provides solutions to avoid common pitfalls of prominent research designs for evaluating efficacy

* Discusses how to formulate research questions and deal with issues of participant selection

* Suggests how to plan and evaluate the integrity and social validity of interventions

Author Biography: Ralf W. Schlosser holds a Ph.D. in Special Education with an emphasis in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) from Purdue University. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology at Northeastern University. Professor Schlosser has published in peer-reviewed journals such as Augmentative and Alternative Communication, Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, and the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. He is the recipient of the 1998 Editor Award, sponsored by Prentke Romich Company, for the best student paper in Augmentative and Alternative Communication.