Co-Construction as a Facilitative Factor in Supporting the Personal Narratives of Children Who Use Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Abstract

Adult co-construction with children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) has been found to facilitate child communicative competence in general, but few studies have examined adult co-construction during the telling of personal narratives. This study explored the use of adult co-constructive strategies during personal storytelling with a child who used AAC. Case study discourse analysis methodology was utilized to analyze the types of co-construction strategies employed and the effectiveness of these co-construction strategies during an intervention session with a speech-language pathologist and a child who used AAC. The study concluded that use of child-centered co-construction strategies, including elicitation, question asking, prompts, positive praise, repetitions, and modeling of vocabulary and grammar, might be a facilitative factor in supporting the personal narratives of children who use AAC. Clinical implications for using child-centered co-construction during dyadic exchanges with children who use AAC are discussed.