The first issue of the scientific and practical journal "Autism and Developmental Disorders" (No. 1-2025), devoted to the topic of alternative and complementary communication (ADC), has been published.

The thematic editor of the issue was Tamara Nikolaevna Isaeva, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, associate professor at the Institute of Childhood of Moscow Pedagogical State University (MPGU), one of the leading Russian specialists in the field of special education. Tamara Nikolaevna is actively involved in the development of methodological and educational programs aimed at training speech pathologists, as well as in creating practical solutions to support children with severe multiple developmental disorders and autism spectrum disorders.

The issue focuses on summarizing the Russian experience of using ADC in the care of children and adolescents with severe developmental disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. The issue presents research on the use of PECS, Macaton, ESDM, and Communication Matrix techniques, as well as a comparative analysis of the training of speech pathologists in Russia and abroad.

Special attention is paid to the formation of communication skills as the central goal of correctional and developmental work and as a condition for increasing involvement in social interactions. The articles cover both clinical research and successful practices of ADC implementation in educational and social institutions.

The new issue of the PsyJournals LIVE podcast is also dedicated to the topic of the issue, the guest of which was Olga Alexandrovna Popova, head of the My Planet Center. She spoke about the results of the study "Formation of the expectation skill in adolescents with developmental disabilities using the PECS alternative communication system." This study reveals one of the key components of effective social interaction using alternative communication — the ability to wait.

At the end of the issue, information about the V All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference with international participation "The Value of everyone: Overcoming exclusion" (Moscow, April 14-15, 2025) is presented.

The full texts of the articles are available on the portal PsyJournals.ru