Parent-Centered Intervention in the Time of the Pandemic - Meeting the Complex Communication Needs of a Bilingual Preschooler

Oct 15, 2026

The study examines a six-week, online, parent-centered AAC intervention implemented by a Spanish-English preschool special education teacher and a Spanish-speaking parent for a bilingual preschool child with complex communication needs (CCN). During pandemic-era hybrid learning, the parent and teacher introduced a low-technology PECS using English and Spanish to support functional communication when natural speech is limited. Findings report increased understanding of communicative intent and high parent satisfaction, highlighting culturally and linguistically relevant instruction effectiveness for bilingual CCN.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Global online learning changes during COVID-19

Need for supports for students with disabilities

Alternative and Augmentative Communication

AAC and cultural/linguistic relevance at home

Barriers: training and access

Intervention Study

Purpose and primary goal

Parent-centered PECS approach

Parent-Centered Intervention in the Time of the Pandemic: Meeting the Complex Communication Needs of a Bilingual Preschooler The COVID-19 pandemic forced educational practitioners, students (PreK–12), and families to adjust to synchronous and asynchronous online instruction. This study followed an online intervention involving a Spanish-English preschool special education teacher, a Spanish-speaking parent, and her bilingual preschool child with complex communication needs (CCN). Students with CCN frequently require an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system to compensate for severe developmental language disorders. Over a six-week period, the parent and teacher collectively introduced the preschooler to a low-technology AAC option: a picture exchange communication system in English and Spanish. Overall, the parent developed an increased understanding of her child’s communicative intent and reported high levels of satisfaction with utilizing AAC to meet her child’s bilingual language needs. Eventhough the pandemic caused many learning challenges, this single-subject study highlights the effectiveness of a parent-centered and culturally relevant instructional approach for a bilingual preschooler with CCN. Keywords: online learning, parent-centered practices, complex communication needs, Spanish-English bilingual, augmentative and alternative communication The to COVID-19 pandemic forced educational practitioners, students (Pre-K–12), and families to adjust synchronous and asynchronous online instruction. This study followed an online intervention involving a Spanish-English preschool special education teacher, a Spanish-speaking parent, and her bilingual preschool child with complex communication needs (CCN) . Students with CCN frequently require an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system to compensate for severe developmental language disorders (DLD) . Over a six-week period, the parent and teacher collectively introduced the preschooler to a low-technology AAC option: a picture exchange communication system (PECS) in English and Spanish. Overall, the parent developed an increased understanding of her child’s communicative intent and reported high levels of satisfaction with utilizing AAC to meet her child’s bilingual language needs. Even though the pandemic caused many learning challenges, this single-subject study highlights the effectiveness of a parent-centered and culturally relevant instructional approach for a bilingual preschooler with CCN. Global school closures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have had tremendous repercussions for millions of students and their families (Azoulay, 2020; Gullo, 2022) . Undoubtedly, the pandemic forced teachers and administrators to reimagine educational practices. Although online teaching methods existed prior to COVID-19, most educators and students were unaccustomed to the sudden and exclusive implementation of synchronous and asynchronous hybrid learning platforms (International Association for K–12 Online Learning [iNACOL], 2011) . Recent research indicates that students with disabilities were at a heightened risk for many of the educational and socio-emotional challenges that surfaced during the pandemic (Petretto et al., 2020; Toquero, 2020) . Furthermore, students with more significant disabilities encountered additional struggles when instructive learning and clinical interventions via in-person, face-to-face interactions were reduced to interactions through a computer screen (Porter et al., 2021) . When young children are unable to use natural verbal speech, they face many obstacles resulting from this inability to convey their basic needs, wants, and emotions to their families, teachers, and peers (Ogletree et al., 2018; Wofford et al., 2021) . Specifically, children with CCN due to significant limitations in their linguistic, perceptual, motoric, or cognitive systems experience additional challenges (Thomas-Stonell et a

FAQs

What was the primary goal of the six-week intervention?

The intervention aimed to increase functional communication skills using PECS in a parent-centered way that was linguistically and culturally relevant for the bilingual preschooler.

Why are AAC systems important for children with complex communication needs?

Children with CCN often need AAC to compensate for severe developmental language disorders and to communicate basic needs, wants, and emotions when natural verbal speech is limited.

What did the parent and teacher introduce during the study?

They jointly introduced a low-technology picture exchange communication system (PECS) using English and Spanish over the six-week period.

Oct 15, 2026

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