Assistive Communication Devices Research Articles

One method to increase spontaneous use of an assistive communication device: case study

This report presents a case study of a 19-year-old adolescent male with a severe physical impairment and a mild-to-moderate cognitive deficit. Based upon classroom observations, it was noted that he infrequently used his assistive communication device (Touch Talker) for conversational interaction. A training program was designed to teach (1) accessing of specific three- to six-word sentences and (2) production of the learned sentence following spoken cues. Observations of communication behavior within his daily environment were made to determine use of his communication device. Results indicated rapid learning of the targeted sentences and subsequent spontaneous production of the sentences following spoken cues. A concomitant increase in spontaneous use of his device for daily activities within the classroom and community was also observed.

Efficiency of lexical prediction as a communication acceleration technique

This study evaluated the performance of a lexical prediction communication program. It showed that lexical prediction saves key/switch activation effort by as much as 50% compared to normal typing. For individuals with significant motor disabilities, the technique may also save on the time required to prepare a message. On the other hand, use by individuals who have significant perceptual deficits may result in an increase in the time required to prepare a message. The study also developed a procedure and a set of indices that may be used to compute quantitative measures of performance of assistive communication devices. The procedure yields a composite performance index that may be useful for “rough and ready” comparison among various AAC devices and techniques. The procedure is especially useful for comparative studies of communication acceleration techniques.

Assistive communication devices: Call for specifications

Many types of assistive communication devices have become available in the past decade for individuals requiring augmentative and alternative communication. Choosing appropriate devices is frequently a difficult decision, due in part, to the vast variety of available options. Device characteristics such as memory capability, programming requirements, and input and output features lend themselves to the development of specifications. The authors describe a number of these device characteristics and call for collaboration among manufacturers, researchers, clinicians/educators, and consumers to begin to collect, develop, and report specifications to aid in the device selection process.

Increasing functional use of an assistive communication device by a student with severe disabilities

An instructional package consisting of preinstruction and natural environment teaching techniques was used to teach a young man with cerebral palsy and moderate mental retardation to functionally u...