The Elicitation of Latent Oral Communicative Potential in a Severely Handicapped Adult: Procedures and Implications

Abstract

Several procedures designed to increase the oral communication of a woman with severe neuromuscular and intellectual handicaps are described. Data collected from intervention strategies, as well as the tutorial staff of the student's residential setting, indicate that she is now using speech and language appropriately and consistently, although prior to programming she was virtually non-communicative. Factors relating to her rapid increase in verbal behavior, and implications for therapy with the severely handicapped, are discussed.