VIDBE-Q Volume 68 Issue 4
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everyday settings. The CM, which has been used by practitioners and researchers
for over 30 years, can be used with individuals of any age to measure expressive
communication skills as they emerge and progress. Skills referenced in the Matrix
are associated with a typical developing language system, 0 to 24 months of age.
The CM provides team and family members a clearer way not only to recognize
the communication forms of individuals, but also to identify function. For
example, if a child is consistently pushing an item away, then pushing as the form,
while the function of the communication behavior is recognized as refusal. Other
forms of communication such as looking, touching, reaching, grasping, vocalizing,
gesturing, sign language, using augmentative communication devices, and using
speech are all recognized as forms. When an individual begins connecting words,
signs, symbols, braille together to form expressions, that is recognized as the use of
language and it is the highest level measured by the CM. Each skill is coded as
"emerging", "mastered", or "not used". Additional communication functions
include requesting, socializing, asking, and informing. The CM creates a visual
graphic to represent the individual's level of communication, mapping the
individual's communication forms and functions across seven levels of
communication.
