Implementing Words Their Way with an Adolescent Who Uses AAC: A Case Study

Abstract

Word study interventions (e.g., Words Their Way™) have been used for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to support progress in reading. Although the literature strongly reinforces using word study interventions for reading decoding, their use for spelling has not been as widely researched. This case study project describes a student who communicated through augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) by typing novel utterances; however, his spelling did not follow conventional rules. Therefore, this created communication breakdowns for his communication partners since he could not utilize the spelling prediction features on his device. As a possible solution to this problem, the Words Their Way™ intervention was implemented to improve spelling. This student made progress in his spelling abilities, and more research is needed to generalize results to other AAC users.