“What brings me joy is that the LAMP™ approach really focuses on the social connection with the learner,” reflected Cindy Halloran, OTR/L. “Seeing those beginning learners have joy in communication and then go back to that device with intent to be social again. You can see the teary reactions of the therapist and parents when they see their child communicate or connect in a novel way or demonstrate a skill the parents haven’t seen before—they’re just so proud of that child. Those moments are amazing.”
Cindy, an occupational therapist (OT), co-developed the Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP) therapy approach and the LAMP Words for Life® vocabulary system with her husband John who is a speech-language pathologist (SLP). With their shared belief that children learn through play, Cindy and John created a therapeutic approach and vocabulary that’s helped countless children with autism and other developmental disabilities engage and grow with high-tech augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices.
The five components of the LAMP Approach grew out of the 10-year private practice in the 1990s supporting children with autism. Cindy’s OT experience in sensory integration paired well with John’s SLP background at PRC-Saltillo (then Prentke Romich Company) with AAC and Minspeak® vocabularies. “The overlapping of those two perspectives helped in the development of the approach and made it better,” noted Cindy.
It wasn’t yet clear at that time whether Minspeak or AAC devices would be an effective communication tool for individuals with autism. Cindy and John’s goal was to figure out a way to teach children with perceived lower receptive language how to learn their first words on a device. And by doing so, it became apparent that many
Cindy and John shared these images from their private practice in the 1990s.
“The social connection is the most important component of the child's potential,” said John Halloran, M.S., CCC-SLP. “Be very child-centered and follow their lead. The happier the child is during the session, the more progress they're going to make. That's the main thing you have to do to make this method work.”
AAC can seem overwhelming in the beginning. Adding elements of interest to your child can help make it fun and engaging for both of you. This will help them learn language. It also helps you build a relationship with your child.
Showing respect for behaviors being presented, even the challenging ones, meets individuals where they are and encourages safety and participation. Cindy recalled John’s response to a young girl struggling in a therapy session. “When he verbalized what he thought she was wanting to say, I could see her calm down. It's like, OK, you get me. You understand me. That level of respect versus forcing them to do something makes a big difference.”
Cindy and John noticed that individuals who were fluent using an AAC device relied on motor plans in their communications. “There were individuals with Minspeak-based systems who were not looking at the screen and were playing it like a piano,” said John. “You had to stand in awe of what they were able to do.”
Impressed with their success, this shaped the importance of the motor plan in both the approach and vocabulary. John continued, “We had to be observers and figure out what it was about that system that's working and then try to develop a system that enhanced that. We then modified current systems to follow what we saw those kids and adults doing.”
“It's easy to learn by doing something and getting a response,” said Cindy. “Start at a cause-and-effect level where learners just touch the device and something happens. They learn that the device is going to do something beneficial for them and you can build from that spot.”
Focusing on the motor plan for a word is an easier and more efficient way to teach AAC. In language development, gestures come before words and words come before combinations of words and understanding. Similarly with high-tech AAC, the communicator can learn to produce a motor plan to make something happen before they know words or the meaning of symbols.
Combining a motor plan, auditory signal, natural response, and joy is how typical speakers learn. These are often hard for kids with complex communication disorders. Rather than teaching them an entirely different way to learn, the LAMP approach gives them a supportive pathway to do them and develop a way to communicate in the process.
With deep respect for Minspeak creator and linguist Bruce Baker, the Hallorans began to make modifications to the Unity® vocabulary system to match what was observed in their most successful AAC communicators. “There's some huge advantages to Bruce Baker's genius work, especially the way he conjugates verbs,” noted John. “We knew he had some real magic in what he had done.”
Cindy and John took the benefits of Minspeak and modified Unity into what is now LAMP Words for Life with one consistent motor movement per word and no more than three keystrokes to say a word. Minspeak features such as 1-Hit and Vocabulary Builder™ help support the critical motor learning component.
With LAMP Words for Life, “there's magic behind motor plus auditory plus visual plus joy,” explained John. “You have a motor movement. Motor neurons fire and an auditory neuron fires a visual cortex which fires that multi-sensory convergence. Then joy releases the neurotransmitters that make learning take place. There's science behind the communicator being happy. Showing that joy means their brain released the neurotransmitter that say those cells that just fired need to wire together which is critical for learning to take place.”
Cindy and John were intentional about making this vocabulary with 84 buttons. A vocabulary system with bigger, but less buttons can be harder because you have to sequence more to have the same size vocabulary. With more buttons on a page, you can say more words with less button selections.
Cindy commented, “You don't want to prejudge anyone about where their max language level is because you don't know. If you give them a system with 36 buttons, you don't know that they could do 48 because you've never given them that opportunity.”
“The LAMP approach isn't specific to a vocabulary system,” added Cindy. “You can use some of those same techniques with other robust AAC vocabularies, but the main principle is that motor learning piece of it.”
Cindy and John welcome you to attend a LAMP training and learn about something that might not seem logical to you at first. When introduced to the LAMP Words for Life vocabulary, some are initially uncertain. The aha moments come when they understand the social, sensory, and science-based reasons behind the program’s features and strategies. When the information clicks, everyone on the AAC team embraces the approach and believe in a path forward.
They invite you to be observers as they once were and see what happens. While the system works differently for each child, you may learn that your child has a higher level of communication potential than you ever dreamed.
John offered this guidance to families. “One of the hardest places that a communication device is likely to work is in the home because parents have a real gift in reading their kid’s body language and facial expressions. You have to give the child enough vocabulary so that it exceeds what they're able to do without using that love language. When starting with a formal AAC system, it's going to take time before the formal system is easier than the gestures or the facial expressions.”
Having a joint goal has given Cindy and John joy and a purpose. In partnership with PRC-Saltillo, they launched The Center for AAC & Autism in 2009 which serves as an educational, clinical resource for professionals and families who are working to expand the language and communication skills of children with autism. “Kids doing better and giving them an opportunity at a good vocabulary system has been a great thing to share,” said Cindy. Through clinical collaboration and debates, John noted, “Being able to create this program as a team, not to be soft-hearted, really has been a nice career.”
To those of you who communicate with LAMP Words for Life, John and Cindy have a closing message just for you. “Thank you,” said John. “Thank you for sharing your journey and helping us learn.” Cindy added, “If you choose, you can also be an example for others by communicating and using your system out in public and sharing with others. Your journey will open the door for other individuals.”
Today, LAMP Words for Life is available on all three PRC-Saltillo communication device product lines (Accent®, NovaChat®, Via®) and in the LAMP Words for Life app. Language options include English, Spanish, and Canadian French that can be paired together for multilingual communicators.
You can also download LAMP Words for Life lite-tech boards on the AAC Language Lab. Use these free manual boards with students who do not have access to their device, for modeling language or for a student who does not have their device yet to familiarize them with the LAMP Words for Life vocabulary layout.
Explore the LAMP therapy approach and training opportunities at aacandautism.com. To learn more about the LAMP Words for Life vocabulary system, visit lampwflapp.com.
