Assessing Minimally Verbal Communication with the Communication Complexity Scale (CCS)

Life Sciences, Clinical Trials,
  • Wednesday, April 01, 2020

Assessing communication in individuals who communicate with gestures and vocalizations and few single words (i.e., minimally verbal) remains a challenge in clinical development.

This webinar presents a tool called the Communication Complexity Scale (CCS) developed to measure expressive communication during a scripted communication sample, or during a live observation. Attendees will learn about how the CCS was developed and how it can be used in clinical settings to assess individuals with disabilities including autism.

Research studies by the presenter and colleagues showed that the CCS is reliable and has construct validity in comparison to existing measures. In addition, the CCS is sensitive to changes associated with intervention. The CCS is a 12-point scale that can be used to describe communication behaviors such as joint attention, gestures and vocalizations, in addition to beginning word use. A series of training modules have been developed to teach people how to identify communication initiated during authentic interactions and score these initiations with the CCS. The CCS provides information about differences in communication behaviors by different individuals as well as differences in an individual over time.

Join this free webinar to learn how assessing minimally verbal communication is advanced through the use of the CCS.

Speakers

Nancy C. Brady, PhD, Professor and Department Chair, Speech Language Hearing Sciences and Disorders, University of Kansas

Dr. Nancy Brady has conducted research on early language and communication development in children and adults with disabilities for over 25 years. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and US Department of Education and focuses on stages of prelinguistic development, teaching beginning Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and pragmatic aspects of early communication. She has studied children and adults with developmental disabilities, including individuals with autism, fragile X syndrome, Down syndrome and deaf-blindness. Her publications include over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles, an edited book and book chapters. Dr. Brady is a professor in the department of speech language hearing sciences and disorders at the University of Kansas, where she teaches courses on communication in severe disabilities and mentors graduate and undergraduate students. She is currently department chair.

Message Presenter

Marie Dulac, Author Relations Specialist, Mapi Research Trust

Marie Dulac is in charge of developing and maintaining collaborations with questionnaires developers and copyright owners. She also manages the licensing process and distribution of questionnaires that are managed by Mapi Research Trust on behalf of their copyright owners.

Message Presenter

Who Should Attend?

This webinar will appeal to the following individuals:

  • Healthcare professionals, clinical researchers and pharmaceutical companies interested in patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs) and Quality of Life (QOL).
  • Healthcare professionals or clinicians working with individuals with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities, individuals with autism and developing infants
  • Specialist in the field of Mental Disorders, Nervous System Diseases, and Behavior Mechanisms
  • Specialists in speech-language pathology

What You Will Learn

In this free webinar, attendees will learn about:

  • Challenges in assessing individuals with minimally verbal communication
  • How the CCS was developed
  • Applications of the CCS in clinical settings 
  • Additional features of the CCS including associated training modules, how it changes by intervention type and the type of information it provides

Xtalks Partner

Mapi Research Trust

Mapi Research Trust is the official licensor and distributor of over 400 COAs, on behalf of their developers and copyright owners. Please visit our catalog to access the complete list of COAs managed by Mapi Research Trust, or visit our website for additional information on our services to developers and copyright owners.

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