Parent priorities in communication intervention for young students with severe disabilities

Parents of young students with disabilities were interviewed about their pr iorities for communication skill intervention for their child. Twenty commu nication skills in the areas of requesting, refusing, getting attention and socializing were discussed. Parents rated the importance of each skill, ra nked skills in order of importance for their child and gave reasons for the ir ratings and rankings. The skills most important to parents were those of asking for objects, objecting to the actions of others, maintaining an int eraction and drawing attention to pain or discomfort. Common themes were pa rent and child frustration, safety concerns, social acceptability, concern for the child's autonomy, parent perception of skill difficulty, acceptance of current skills, and desire to develop communication for learning.