VIDBE-Q Volume 68 Issue 4
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meet the individual with complex communication needs and help them reach the
last level of the matrix: language.
A second component of the foundation section, Essential Strategies,
incorporates the underlying principles of communication and skills necessary to
make progress. In this section, awareness is drawn to a student's availability to
learn, motor skills, trust, routines, receptive communication, types of cues, concept
development, communication intention, as well as the role literacy plays in
instruction throughout the Matrix. Embracing this section is necessary for
successful direct instruction for students with complex needs.
The graphic below represents the CM and the CMIM as interconnected tools
to support a continuum of communication and literacy instruction based on each
student's needs. (See Figure 1 below)
The information summarized within this graphic brings together the goal of
the CMIM (see Figure 1). The bottom depicts the foundation of interactions and
communication, while the staircase gradually progresses through the levels of the
CM, incorporating concept development, literacy, and how they both increase,
while receptive communication increases. The seven levels within the CM are
depicted as a continuum that progresses in conjunction with receptive
communication, concept development and literacy. The CMIM breaks down
