Among the most important philosophical shifts in our perspective on persons labeled severely disabled has been a change from an exclusive emphasis on remediation of deficit behavior to a positon of empowering and enabling persons with disabilities to participate in all aspects of everyday living. Fundamental to that shift is the reconsideration of the role of persons without obvious disabilities. In this paper introducing a special issue on communication, we examine the role of communication partners in enhancing communication with persons labeled severely disabled. Three fundamental assumptions about the nature of communication are discussed. The papers contained in the volume are reviewed briefly and recommendations for future research are considered.
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