<p> The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study is to explore the perspectives of Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) and Behavior Analysts (BAs) related to their scopes of practice and their influence on collaboration. A methodological overview of qualitative, phenomenological interviewing will be described. Based on a collective analysis of the participants&rsquo; responses, several themes emerged related to barriers to collaboration between SLPs and BAs such as the following: (a) Influence of schedules and personality characteristics; (b) Lack of consensus of the relationship between behavior and communication; (c) Professional territorialism; (d) Perception of other professional&rsquo;s level of competency; (5) Different theoretical backgrounds; and (e) Perceived inequities about insurance approval for therapy. The perspectives of SLPs and BAs are reported within each barrier to collaboration in order to provide further insight between these two professionals. Lastly, the importance of an interprofessional approach to collaboration when treating individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders is reviewed.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a treatment package including a modified protocol of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) implemented via an autism-specific iPad application. A multiple probe design (Horner &amp; Baer, 1978) was replicated across four individuals with severe, non-verbal autism to investigate effects on requesting skills, natural speech production, and social-communicative behaviors. Results suggest beneficial effects, if implemented with high fidelity. The largest effects were on the participants&rsquo; requesting skills. All four participants were able to consistently request for desired items by activating the tablet device, and this skill was maintained after a six week break. Generalization probes suggest the newly acquired requesting skills generalize to untrained items. However, individuals may not be able to complete all phases of the modified PECS protocol. Facilitative effects are more noticeable for social-communicative behaviors than for natural speech production. For the three participants that made speech gains, these gains occurred when speech elicitation was more actively implemented. Such patterns are consistent with previous research on the traditional PECS protocol. These results are discussed in regards to clinical applications and research directions.</p>