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Community building in deprived communicative environments: supporting participation and belonging for children with special communicative needs

ABSTRACT This article discusses how children with intellectual disabilities and special communicative needs use Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) and sign-to-speech. Community participation, playing and learning, depends on communication. Everyday school settings may represent phonocentric (verbal speech) communicative environments which creates barriers for participation and belonging for children who use AAC and sign-to-speech, leaving many of these children lonely, muted, and frustrated. In Norway, specialized kindergartens/school for sign language is phased out. A case study of two families, each with an intellectually disabled daughter who uses sign-to-speech and staff in kindergartens and schools, is used as a fulcrum for our discussion of communication as key to community building and community participation and friendship. Community work as a cross-professional approach can affect conditions for participation for these children. Suggestions for how community participation can be facilitated and pave ways for play and belonging for children with special communicative needs are presented.