Showing papers in "Augmentative and Alternative Communication in 1990"

On the communication process: Speaker-listener interaction and the development of speech*

Abstract: The reason why humn a communication is so powerful is tied not only to language but also to the phenomenon of communicative empathy. When communication breaks down, the causes may be found in the s...

The Makaton Vocabulary: Using manual signs and graphic symbols to develop interpersonal communication

Abstract: The Makaton Vocabulary provides an approach to the teaching of communication and language skills, using manual signs and/or graphic symbols, accompanied by speech. The vocabulary is open ended, bas...

A comparison of intelligibility among natural speech and seven speech synthesizers with listeners from three age groups

Abstract: This investigation examined the intelligibility of natural speech and the synthetic speech produced by the Smoothtalker 30 male, Smoothtalker 20 male, Smoothtalker 20 female, RealVoice female, Attic R65B, Votrax SC02, and Lightwriter voices All of these are commonly used in portable communication devices currently available on the commercial market Both single word and sentence intelligibility across listeners from three age groups (7–8 year olds, 11–12 year olds, and adults) were assessed using tasks presented with no contextual cues The results revealed Age Group X Voice interactions for both the word and sentence tasks, indicating different patterns of intelligibility across the age groups The individual patterns, their implications, and future research directions arising from this study are described in detail

Case studies: Why and how

Abstract: Case studies have been advocated as a means to advance the development of the augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) field. However, many potential case studies may remain unwritten because those with experiences to share do not know how to assemble them into a case study. To help provide potential authors with the knowledge necessary to prepare a case study, some of the definitions and purposes of case studies will be reviewed. This will be followed by suggestions for case study content and how to increase the probability that a case study will be publishable. Finally, relations between case studies and single-subject research designs will be discussed, in an attempt to clarify some of the differences between them.

Communication in the Classroom for Children with Dual Sensory Impairments: Studies of Teacher and Child Behavior

Abstract: The child with dual sensory impairments (DSI) may be unaware when a potential communication partner is present, may have no clearly recognizable or conventional means of communication, and may have learned that attempts to communicate go unheeded. These factors contribute to the low rates of communication often exhibited by these children and explain why communication training is a high priority in the classroom. In the classroom for students with DSI, it is generally the teacher or instructional assistant who is both the catalyst for, and the receiver of, communicative exchanges with students. Unfortunately, no published data exist to describe the rate of communicative behavior of children with DSI and the attempts of their teachers to encourage communication. This paper reports the results of two studies on the communication-related behavior of children with DSI and their teachers. In Study I, observations of the entire school day were made to determine overall rates of cues for communication provided b...

The effects of message encoding techniques on recall by literate adults using AAC systems

Abstract: The study investigated the information processing demands of three different approaches to message encoding: letter codes based on the first letters of salient words in the message; letter category codes based on the first letters of a category plus a specifier; and iconic codes derived from-the icons and semantic associations proposed by Baker (1982, 1987). Six nonspeaking, functionally literate, physically disabled adults participated in the study. Three counterbalanced conditions, corresponding to the three message encoding techniques, were presented to each subject. Within each condition, subjects were given 15 minutes of study time to learn a list of 30 messages and their two element codes. Half of the messages involved concrete referents; the other half involved abstract concepts. After a 40 minute retention interval spent in conversation with the investigator, the subjects were randomly presented with contexts that necessitated the messages' use and were tested for their recall of the codes. The re...

A proposed augmentative and alternative communication model

Abstract: A rationale for the development of a communication model is discussed and a specific model for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is proposed. The model is explored in terms of features common to communication models and AAC features, such as alteration of feedback, interfacing with the environment, means of representation, selection, and transmission of a message, and increased potential for message distortion. The major parameters of the AAC model are: sender, message, transmitters, AAC transmission processes, AAC interface, internal feedback, transmission environment, communication environment, receiver, and external feedback. It is hoped that the proposed model will generate a new way of thinking about the field of AAC.

AAC users' perspectives on augmentative and alternative communication

Abstract: Perspectives from 165 different augmentative and altemative communication (AAC) users were summarized following a content analysis of 187 first- and third-person articles, published between the yea...

A statewide demographic survey of people with severe communication impairments

Abstract: A two part demographic survey was conducted to establish basic data on the size and characteristics of the nonspeaking population in Victoria, Australia. This paper presents results from the first part of the survey. The results showed that two-thirds of these people lived in the Melbourne metropolitan area. Most people with severe communication impairments lived at home, although a significant proportion of the population lived in residential training centers. A number of disabilities, both congenital and acquired, were associated with a severe communication impairment, and were often accompanied by an intellectual disability. Daily activities for this population included educational programs, hospital programs, and limited employment options. Future surveys are needed to monitor the changing profile of this population with particular emphasis on those people with acquired disabilities in hospital settings.

Modeling of user performance with computer access and augmentative communication systems for handicapped people

Abstract: The design of the user interface for an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) or computer access system is a critical factor in determining a user's p0erformance with a system. A comprehensive, quantitative, and accurate model for alternative access systems is needed to optimize both developers' design decisions and clinicians' system recommendations. This paper presents an application of one possible model, called the GOMS (Goals, Operafors, Mefhods, Selecfion Rules) model (Card, Moran, & Newell, 1983). The model provides a comprehensive description of user behavior based on system-specific parameters as well as the cognitive, perceptual, and motor capabilities of the user. It can be used to predict both task execution and learning times, as well as points of excessive long or short term memory load. The GOMS model is applied here to three interfaces currently used in AAC and computer access systems in order describe and predict user performance, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The thre...

Gaining the most from AAC's growing years

Abstract: The field of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is described from the perspective of an educator involved in the field since the early seventies and with experience as a regular and special education classroom teacher, educational consultant, administrator, Blissymbolics specialist, and first president of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC). Following a sharing of the author's recollections of AAC's early years, the limitations and unique opportunities arising from AAC's short but intensive history are discussed. Suggestions are made for examining the areas within AAC developmentally, in order to gain the most from AAC's growing years. The author urges AAC participants to apply the vitality and innovation of youth toward exploring global as well as specific AAC questions and toward increased collaboration between those from different areas of expertise. She challenges the field to a heightened sensitivity to the broad needs of consumers and to an ...

Age and gender preferences for synthetic and natural speech

Abstract: The purpose of this investigation was to examine the preferences of younger and older male and female listeners with regard to natural and computer-generated synthetic speech in six different contexts. The subjects (listeners) for this study included five males and five females in each of four age groups (6- to 8-year-olds, 10- to 12-year-olds, adolescents, and adults). The listeners rated their preferences for 12 different voices (four natural and eight synthetic) on a 5 point Likert scale. Their preferences were rated for six communication contexts dependent on the potential user of the voice (adult male, adult female, child male, child female, computer, and self). The data were analyzed separately for each of the six communication contexts. The results indicated that the Smoothtalker 3.0 male and RealVoice female voices were the most highly rated of the synthetic voices. However, there were almost always statistically significant discrepancies between the ratings for natural and synthetic speech. The r...

Signs of the Week: A functional approach to manual sign training

Abstract: A problem exists in training direct care staff that work with developmentally disabled populations to be aware of the use of manual signs as a communication system and to use this system functionally within their environments. Traditional sign training procedures usually focus on acquisition through a classroom design, often neglecting the essential function of a communication system. Signs of the Week is an environmental approach to manual sign training for direct care staff, which focuses on these staff acquiring and consistently using manual signs with each other and the clients they serve. This approach provides a unique way for direct care staff to learn and use manual signs while on the job. This article describes the development of the Signs of the Week program from vocabulary selection to evaluation.

A “Working Party” approach to planning in-service training in manual signs for an entire public school staff

Abstract: A working party, composed of elementary school personnel (administrator, regular and special education staff, and parent) and university special education personnel (faculty and graduate students) worked cooperatively to develop and implement a manual sign in-service training package to improve the communication environment for severely disabled students attending that elementary school. A series of four, half-day workshops were planned during which school staff (teachers, aides, custodians, support staff, food handlers, and bus drivers) would learn manual signs for a functional core vocabulary selected from a list generated by the public school staff and students. These signs were carefully sequenced using existing research findings to facilitate successful acquisition. The process of planning and conducting the in-service training workshops has yielded valuable lessons in several areas. The use of a working party, selection of vocabulary, development of the workshop format, activities, materials, and de...

Some considerations about the motor requirements of manual signs

Abstract: This paper raises several concerns about some aspects of the motor requirements of manual signs that have appeared in the augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) literature which seem to warrant further investigation. The purpose of the article is: (a) to review what is known and what is proposed about the motor aspects and requirements of manual signs, (b) to raise questions and stimulate thought about some of the proposed and potential relationships, and (c) to suggest directions for future investigations.

A comparative study of language delayed preschool children's ability to recall symbols from two symbol systems

Abstract: This study compared the acquisition of two graphic symbol systems, Rebus and Bliss, with language delayed preschool children. Subjects were 26 black children between the ages of 4 and 6 with language delays ranging from 7 months to 2 years, 5 months. Training in Rebus and Bliss was administered to each subject using a crossover design. The Rebus pre- and post-test scores suggested that the more iconic Rebus symbols were easier to identify initially than were the more ideographic Blissymbols. However, with training, a greater amount of improvement occurred from Bliss pre- to posttest. Rebus and Bliss scores were not affected by the order of test administration.

An augmentative and alternative writing system for a college student with fibrositis: A case study

Abstract: There are a variety of mildly disabled individuals capable of natural speech who benefit from augmentative and alternative writing systems This paper presents the case study of L S, a young woman with severe fibrositis that inhibited her writing abilities during undergraduate and graduate school, as well as during her first job as a speech-language pathologist Her alternative writing systems for a 10-year period are reviewed, her use patterns are documented during her graduate program, and the results of a communication needs assessment are reported

Be Sure to Give Me Credit

Abstract: Guidelines for managing potential conflict regarding professional credit are presented. These include: (a) acknowledge that professional credit is a very sensitive issue; (b) determine credit decisions early enough in a project so that the participants can adjust their workloads to correspond to the credit that they expect to receive; (c) develop a credit policy for students and research assistants who participate in projects; (d) view professional credit in the context of the broader clinical and/or research endeavor; and (e) develop a credit policy that is fair, equitable, and understandable.

The ISAAC research committee

Abstract: (1990). The ISAAC research committee. Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 76-77.