Communication,Social Skills & Disability

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2013:

240 additional hours of non-contact commitment.

Attendance at all classes (tutorial/seminars/practical classes/lectures/labs/online classes) is obligatory. Failure to attend 80% of classes will normally result in failure in the subject.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.

The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject addresses contemporary theories and research into the processes of learning, speech, language and social development; research into the effects of cognitive, sensory, physical and social-emotional impairment on learning, language and social skills; the use of observation and informal techniques to assess language and social-pragmatics, planning for intervention in the authentic environment, assessment of the learning and social environment, classification and assessment of preverbal and verbal behaviours; parent-child, teacher-child interaction and techniques for assessment; the research and application of augmentative communication.

On completion of this subject, students should be able to:

• Apply contemporary theories of language and social development;
• Address the impact of disability on attention, social competence, language and social-pragmatics;
• Apply effective data collecting techniques when observing the play, language and social competence of children and students with a disability;
• Apply the use of multimodal or augmentative communication systems for children and students with a disability;
• Apply the use of informal assessments to assist the programming of language and social skills programs;
• Apply effective differentiated instruction and environmental modifications in the learning and social situations.

There are two assessment tasks:

• A research paper (5000 words), due end of semester, 50%
• A take home exam, 5000 words equivalent, due mid-semester , 50%

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On completion of this subject, students should be able to:

• Evaluate and apply new knowledge
• Apply analytical, critical and problem solving techniques in relation to language and social skills intervention
• Demonstrate an advanced understanding of the impact of disability on language and social skill development
• Improve capacity and skills to review research
• Debate practices and approaches in communication and social skills intervention