Journal Article Summary "A Strategy To Support The Communication of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder"
Journal Article Summary "A Strategy To Support The Communication of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder"
Journal Article Summary "A Strategy To Support The Communication of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder"
Summary:
One of the core deficits for autism is difficulty with social communication and social
interaction. Many children with ASD have a difference in their development of speech and
language. Communication skills are vital for autistic children’s development, because they help
with behavior, learning and socializing. Therefore, autistic children need support to develop
communication skills. This article introduces a research-based strategy, POWR: Prepare, Offer,
Wait, and Respond, that can be used to effectively enhance the social communication
Description of purpose
The POWR strategy includes several interaction skills that have been shown to encourage
social communication for students with ASD, such as, providing opportunities to communicate
(Broberg, Fern, & Thumburg, 2012) and waiting for communication (Brobeg, 2012). In addition,
the POWR strategy requires frequent responses and providing frequent communication
opportunities (Archer & Hughes, 2010), providing wait time (Landa, 2007), and responding to
the student immediately (Archer & Hughes, 2010). The POWR has four steps that help
communication partners (teachers, peers) support the social communication of children with
ASD. The teacher’s knowledge of the students skills, interest and communication methods is
Major findings
challenges. During training sessions, paraeducators, parents, and siblings all learned to use the
POWR steps with 1 to 2 hours of instruction (Douglas, 2013). The mnemonic POWR will help
educators remember, use, and reinforce the use of the four easy and effective steps, Prepare the
learning experience and AAC, Offer opportunity for communication, Wait for communication,
and Respond to communication.
and encourage communicative development for students with ASD. There are a number of ways
educators and peers can respond to communication. This includes verbalizing behavior,
Unfortunately, research indicates that educators often lack the skills and preparation required to
support the communicative needs of students with ASD. Furthermore, teachers may require
targeted training to ensure the appropriate social communication development of students with
Application:
The article supports what we have learned in class that children with ASD often struggle
with communication and social development. Children with ASD struggle to communicate for a
number of reasons. Some are nonverbal or have limited capacity for speech. Children with ASD
often have a hard time getting people to understand what they want or need. The POWR
communication strategy is a way of teaching communication skills to children with autism. It can
help children with ASD get their point across in a way that’s easier for everybody to understand.