Effects of Symbol Component on the Identifying of Graphic Symbols from EEG for Young Children with and without Developmental Delays

Chih-Hsiung Huang,Pei-Jung Lin

doi:10.3390/app9061260

Abstract

Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) to improve the communication skills of children with disabilities is generally supported by both domestic and foreign scholars. Graphic symbols that represent individual words or phrases are often used in conjunction with AAC; however, research on the reading and identifying of AAC graphic symbols is scant. Therefore, this study used electroencephalogram (EEG) to investigate the success rates of identifying AAC graphic symbols and brainwave changes of young children with and without developmental delays. The results revealed that the number of symbol components affected participants’ success rates of identifying AAC graphic symbols. The EEG Attention Index between the children with and without developmental delays varied during the test. By contrast, the EEG Relaxation Index exhibited no difference between the children with and without developmental delays. When the participants viewed the single-component animations, the children without developmental delays had a significantly higher Relaxation Index than those with developmental delays did. According to cognitive load theory, the children with developmental delays and low cognitive capacities may feel stressed.

Highlights

During the last 20 years, a wide variety of evidence has indicated that augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) can improve the communication skills of children with disabilities [1,2,3]
The purpose of this study was to investigate by EEG the influence of symbol component on the recognition of AAC graphic symbols for kindergarten children with and without developmental delays
The results of this study revealed that the children without developmental delays had a more favorable performance in graphic symbols identification than those with developmental delays did, and both populations had a higher success rate at identifying multiple-component symbols than single-component symbols

Summary

Introduction

During the last 20 years, a wide variety of evidence has indicated that augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) can improve the communication skills of children with disabilities [1,2,3]. Most researchers in AAC studies have employed graphic symbols as vocabulary items to improve the communication skills of children with disabilities; these children have been taught how to express their needs and interact with others through graphic symbols [5,6,7,8,9]. Emms and Gardner [6] argued that, for AAC users, graphic symbols are the most credible alternative vocabulary, and the development of a graphic symbol vocabulary is absolutely critical and fundamental for pediatric AAC users with disabilities.

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Conclusion