“Communication is any act by which one person gives to or receives from another person information about that person’s needs, desires, perceptions, knowledge, or effective states. Communication may be intentional or unintentional, may involve conventional or unconventional signals, may take linguistic or nonlinguistic forms, and may occur through spoken or other modes.

Thus, all persons do communicate in some way; however, the effectiveness and efficiency of this communication vary with a number of individual and environmental factors. Further, some individuals with severe disabilities develop unconventional and socially inappropriate means to communicate, including aggressive acts toward themselves and others. It is the responsibility of all persons who interact with individuals with severe disabilities to recognize the communication acts produced by those individuals and to seek ways to promote the effectiveness of communication by and with those individuals.”  The National Joint Committee for the Communicative Needs of Persons With Severe Disabilities

The Communication Department at JIRDC consists of eight speech language pathologists and a contract audiologist. Staff provide communication assessment, interventions planning, consultation and technical support services to persons who live at the J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center and the staff who serve them, and serve as a resource to persons with developmental disabilities living within the surrounding community.

The use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) materials, equipment, and techniques are the mainstay of the Departments efforts to empower the consumers of our services to influence the behavior of others in a positive pro-active way. From simple symbol or object boards to complex multi-level computer based communication systems, the Department supports communication systems to meet the unique needs of the individual.

The Department is also involved in the assessment and treatment of swallowing disorders. This is a transdisciplinary effort involving speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, nursing, nutritional services and medicine in order to make mealtime safe, maximize nutrition, and ensure the enjoyment of mealtime experiences for individuals with swallowing disorders.