Application of a normal developmental model for understanding the communicative behaviours of students with severe handicaps

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe the nonverbal behaviours of students who are severely/multiply handicapped and to demonstrate how the development of their communicative behaviours parallels the sequence that has been described for normally developing children. Included are the roles of the adult and child in the communicative exchange at each level of development and communicative examples of student behaviours that are typically seen in severely/multiply handicapped children.