Forms and Functions
Multiple informants can complete this worksheet to describe how a child expresses a range of communicative functions. Forms and Functions provides information about the range of communication modes used by a student. The worksheet can be customized for different purposes, for example:
- Ask parents to fill out Forms and Functions for new students so unfamiliar staff can recognize subtle communicative signals.
- Multiple partners at school and home fill out the worksheet to see how communication forms differ among more and less familiar partners.
- Fill out the worksheet periodically to track progress over time to see how communication forms and functions change and broaden.
- Track use of different AAC tools and strategies across functions.
- Provide information about how a student’s communication modes change in different seating and positioning devices.
References and Links
The Forms and Functions Worksheets that we use was adapted first by Mary Hunt-Berg from 2 sources:
Kathleen Quill’s chapter in Teaching Children with Autism: Strategies to Enhance Communication and Socialization ©1995
“Checklist of Communicative Functions and Means” by Amy Weatherby, 1995. https://connectability.ca/2011/10/19/how-to-use-the-%E2%80%9Cchecklist-of-communicative-functions-and-means%E2%80%9D/
Forms and Functions blank – Positioning Devices [PDF, 161KB]
Forms and Functions blank – Postioning Devices [Word, 18KB]
Forms and Functions blank [PDF, 152KB]