Sposoby komunikowania się osób z głębszą niepełnosprawnością intelektualną

This article presents the results of an investigation into the augmentative and alternative modes of communication used by children and adolescents with mental retardation. The study begins with a review of the whole range of augmentative and alternative communication methods employed by the mentally retarded. Special attention is accorded to two most widely used multimodal language systems, PCS symbols and the MAKATON project. It is followed by a presentation of results of tests conducted in the group of young persons, aged between eight and twenty-three, students of the Special Education Centre in Kraków. Eighty individuals with moderate and severe mental retardation were selected to represent different educational levels, primary-school, secondary-school and vocational. The research suggests that while verbal communication (speech) is most common, alternative communication methods are dominant in some cases. The details of the investigation are presented in the final part of the paper.