Three Projects, Two Universities
–
Penn State University and University of New York at Buffalo
Augmentative Communication
News, Volume 11, #6.
ACN’s continuing coverage of
the new Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center in AAC highlights three projects.
These projects have the potential to change how we think about (1) providing
language on displays and devices, (2) strategies for promoting the successful
employment of AAC users and (3) measuring communication rate during interactive
exchanges in ways that give us better comparative data about the effectiveness
of different device and display features.
1. Improving assistive technologies.
Janice Light and Kathryn Drager from Penn State and their collaborators10
are seeking to better understand how young children organize language and represent
it.
Today we are representing language
and organizing displays based on adult models of language. Essentially, we
put symbols (that make sense to adults) in boxes. Does this facilitate language
learning for young children? Are we organizing language in ways that support
development? How do children learn to select language symbols in space (on
displays, devices, and the environment?)10
Phase I seeks information about how
children learn language concepts organized in communication systems in different
ways (e.g., using environmental pages on a dynamic display). Researchers
will teach typically developing children (ages 2-5) to use different organizational
approaches to see how quickly they learn, how they retrieve language and what
errors they make. They also will ask groups of seven year olds to build communication
systems to see what new insights they might contribute to the design of AAC
technologies for young children.
"Imagine your sister/brother
couldn’t talk. What would you make to help her/him answer questions at
school, talk and play with you, read books with your mommy and daddy."
In Phase II, researchers will develop
guidelines for AAC systems that represent language in developmentally appropriate
ways and evaluate these approaches with children who require AAC. They will
consider how state-of-the-art computer software and Internet website designs
can benefit AAC device (display) design, by making them more engaging, interesting
and/or developmentally appropriate.
2. Improving employment outcomes.
In another Penn State project David McNaughton and Janice Light are working
with successfully employed augmented communicators, as well as their family
members, employers and employment counselors, to identify strategies that lead
to obtaining and maintaining employment. Six focus groups will be conducted
over the World Wide Web to gather information on the experiences of individuals
with: (1) cerebral palsy, (2) amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, (3) mental retardation,
(4) autism, (5) traumatic brain injury, and (6) aphasia.
After the results from these data
are collected, researchers will work prospectively with (1) adolescents just
entering the job market and (2) individuals reentering the job market after
acquiring a disability. Efforts will be made to link people with similar employment
interests and experiences with members of the focus groups.
3. Communication rate, efficiency
and effectiveness. Jeff Higginbotham and colleagues at the University of
New York at Buffalo are studying the role of "rate" on communication.
The field is now informed about
the efficiency of AAC devices and communication products mostly by manufacturers
and developers. That is because we do not have objective ways to measure and
compare the rate, efficiency and effectiveness of the communicative use of
AAC products. Also, heretofore, we have measured rate using a "words
per minute" (wpm) approach. While this captures the linguistic elements
of messages, it leaves out critical characteristics of the communicative process
in AAC.
The message transmission rate of
augmented communicators compares poorly to typical speaking (and typing). This
is due to constraints of high-tech and low-tech devices, as well as user limitations.
This project will develop new tools for measuring communication rate during
interactive exchanges. The goal is to develop a way to determine which device
and display features enhance efficient and effective communication.
Summary
The results of these projects may
further inform the field about the validity of how we currently think about
designing language displays for young children and individuals with limited
language skills, how we might consider delivering certain types of AAC services
(i.e., employment support over the Internet) and how to measure communication
efficiency. In each case, the findings could be relevant to people who use AAC,
practitioners and developers. Stay tuned.
For more information contact the
AAC-RERC, Box 3888, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710. Phone:
919-681-9983; FAX: 919-681-9984; Email: aac-rerc@mc.duke.edu;
Web page: www.aaa-rerc.com.
This article appears
in Augmentative Communication News, Volume
11, #6.
You may order this
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