ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book considers a small step towards bridging the gap between academic research and practice at school and at home, and in particular, to highlight this as a bi-directional journey. It focuses on children and individuals with autism and additional severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties (SPMLD) for two main reasons. The book also presents the literature on the importance of spontaneous communication and the atypical way this tends to develop in autism. It examines the impact NT individuals may have on autistic people's spontaneous communication, and suggests a set of principles that school staff, parents and other people can use to increase spontaneous communication in individuals with autism and S/PMLD. The book describes a part of doctoral study on the effect of adult interactive style on the spontaneous communication of young children with autism at school.
