ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines and describes the Participation Model originally developed by Rosenberg and Beukelman and later revised by Beukelman and Mirenda. The goal in this model is to consider individualized elements of the student's environment. The chapter focuses on solely opportunity barriers and highlight potential environmental considerations for successful interaction with students with complex communication needs (CCN). Identifying opportunity barriers is a challenging task, yet it is critical to effectively serve students with CCN. The Team Assessment Consideration of Opportunity Barriers Checklist is divided into the two categories of opportunity barriers, advocacy and abilities. The goal is for each team member to answer the questions provided on the checklist to the best of his or her knowledge, and then discuss with all team members to more accurately determine if barriers exist. To eliminate policy barriers within the student's environment, a first step is for careful evaluation and examination of policies being imposed.
