Components of LAMP™
Readiness to Learn
In order to learn, an individual must be in a state of arousal that supports attending and engagement. For individuals with sensory processing differences, including many autistic people, reaching and sustaining this state of readiness to learn can require additional support.
Sensory-based strategies to help that individual regulate their level of arousal can be meaningfully integrated into learning and therapy contexts.Sensory–motor activities not only support regulation, but are often inherently motivating and enjoyable.
To support sustained engagement, it is important to follow the individual’s interests when determining which vocabulary to introduce, aligning language opportunities with their intent to communicate. Natural, intrinsically motivating activities tend to foster interaction and shared engagement more effectively than activities that are rote, drill-based, or compliance-focused.
Joint Engagement
When introducing an AAC device, the communication partner should follow the child’s lead, introducing and expanding vocabulary around their interests and commuicative intent.
Spontaneous, learner-led interactions support natural communication and often sustain engagement for longer periods of time. Vocabulary is more readily generalized when it is learned withing natural activities that are meaningful to the learner than through highly structured or compliance-focused tasks. Communication should feel purposeful and rewarding rather than effortful or work-like. As the non-speaking individual begins to understand the power of communication, increased joint attention and engagement are often observed.
Consistent and Unique Motor Patterns
The core principle of the LAMP approach is that the motor plan to say a word needs to be unique from the motor plans to say other words and remain consistent over time. Once a motor plan to say a word is learned, it should not be changed. To communicate effectively, a person needs to attend to their environment, listen to another speaker and follow the flow of the conversation. This is more difficult when cognitive effort must be directed toward locating icons, navigating categories or navigating the device.
The brain develops motor plans for movements that are repeated frequently, allowing those movements to occur automatically with minimal conscious effort. Examples of everyday activities that rely on motor planning include:
- Typing
- Handwriting
- Tying shoes
- Certain aspects of driving a car
When speaking individuals communicate, they don’t have to focus on how to produce sounds and words; instead, they focus on the message they want to convey. The same principle applies to AAC as the movements to produce the sound becomes the "articulators." If the motor movement required to say a word changes from one activity to another or over the course of an individual’s life as his need for vocabulary grows, the cognitive load for communication is increased as automaticity can not develop.
Auditory Signals
The additional sensory input of the voice on a speech generating devices is significant for a number of reasons. The more sensory feedback available when learning a task, the easier it is to learn. Pairing auditory feedback with a consistent and unique motor movement may also support audtiory processing, segmentation fo speech and language development.
Even in the absense of a communication partner, language learning can occur as the word associated with a particular motor movements is heard. This allows the individual to explore and learn language through babbling.
Natural Consequences
Specific motor movements are repeated and learned based on the feedback they produce. Providing a intrensically rewarding, natural response helps attribute meaning to the word spoken. To support langauge learning, the communcative partner should provide:
- An animated or expressive reaction to the utterance;
- The requested activity or item; or
- An appropriate response to enhance the meaning of the communicated word.
Resonses that are playful, fun, or aligned with the intersts of the nonspeaking individual are more likely to sustain engagement. When the interactions are joyful and meaningful, memory and learning are supported. A visual and sensory responses can be especially helpful for individuals with auditory processing differences.