Graphic Symbol Systems Research Articles

“Us versus Them”: is the voice of the community heard when planning communication screening programmes for preschoolers?

ObjectivesCommunity consultation is necessary to ensure the uptake and use of community-based screening intervention to detect early childhood disabilities, as its absence can result in poor service acceptance and usage. To document stakeholders' perspectives regarding planning a community-based communication disorder (an impairment in the ability to receive, send, process and comprehend concepts or verbal, non-verbal and graphic symbol systems) screening programmes for pre-schoolers. Study designThis qualitative research design used purposive and random sampling to recruit 46 participants from eThekwini Municipality, South Africa. These stakeholders consisted of caregivers/parents of children who underwent screening for communication disorders, People who are Deaf, their parents, early childhood development practitioners, health professionals and government officials involved with children with disabilities. All participants were adults aged between 19 and 79 years, with an average age of 39.7 years. MethodsData was collected through focus group discussions and individual interviews, which were thematically analysed. ResultsThe four emergent themes were screening approaches, methods, location and personnel. Service users expected greater access to screening and reliable tests to identify problems by trained personnel at sites within the community. Service providers preferred a targeted approach to screening with parental input. Task shifting and sharing were seen as a solution to address staff shortages and provide services at health facilities, as resource constraints made it challenging to provide outreach services. ConclusionStakeholder engagement revealed diverging views between service users and providers, with implications for programme provision and uptake. There is a need for ongoing, inclusive discussion to ensure consensus during the planning stage, in order to render services that address issues of equity and accessibility for people with disabilities in marginalised communities.

보완‧대체의사소통(AAC) 상징체계 수립을 위한 그림상징 도상성에 관한 고찰

보완‧대체의사소통(AAC) 상징체계 수립을 위한 그림상징 도상성에 관한 고찰

精神発達遅滞児の視覚性人工言語獲得 : 語順・文法範ちゅうによる色分け・般化

精神発達遅滞児の視覚性人工言語獲得 : 語順・文法範ちゅうによる色分け・般化

이화-AAC 상징체계 개발 연구

Background and Objectives: Cultural appropriateness of AAC vocabulary and graphic representation is an important characteristic of the line-drawing AAC symbol system. The purpose of this study was to develop a graphic symbol system which reflect Korean culture of school and life in general. Method: Korean AAC vocabulary set was developed by analyzing various high-tech communication devices and symbol software as well as collecting age specific vocabulary for children, school-aged students, and adults with disabilities. color line drawing graphic symbols were designed for the AAC vocabulary set and were verified multiple times by professionals such as special educators and SLPs who had extensive teaching experience with students with complex communication difficulties. Results: About 10,000 graphic symbols were developed and high validity score was obtained. Conclusion: The development of Ewha-AAC symbol system is meaningful in consideration of age range and cultural context as well as having balance between situational vocabulary and developmental vocabulary. Further study is recommended for symbol iconicity and expansion.

Percepção do usuário de comunicação suplementar e alternativa e de seus interlocutores sobre o uso dos sistemas gráficos.

Sistemas gráficos inseridos nos recursos de Comunicação Suplementar Alternativa (CSA) são ferramentas prioritárias para ampliar as possibilidades de comunicação. Objetivo: Descrever o histórico de uso da CSA de uma usuária, identificando a sua percepção e de seus interlocutores sobre os meios de comunicação utilizados. Procedimentos Metodológicos: Estudo de caso único, realizado por meio da análise dos dados obtidos do histórico da usuária de CSA nas intervenções de terapia ocupacional; duas entrevistas com a usuária e nove entrevistas com seus interlocutores. Resultados: Foram identificadas a importância da CSA para a facilitação da comunicação da usuária; a necessidade de reorganização constante dos símbolos em função da habilidade motora da usuária, bem como a relação entre a comunicação estabelecida e a demanda de suas atividades, sugerindo que a comunicação restrita com os interlocutores relacionar-se-ia com a pouca vivência de atividades sociais. Conclusões: Necessidade de uma reorganização das pranchas, envolvendo maior conteúdo de vocabulário, tornando a comunicação mais rápida; intervenções em sua rotina a fim de ampliar suas relações com seus interlocutores.

Interpretation and Construction of Meaning of Bliss-words in Children

Blissymbolics as a graphic symbol system has the potential to represent a large number of vocabulary items using a small number of basic Bliss-characters. The aim of this project was to investigate how children with typical development, aged 3 years to 7 years 11 months, interpreted Bliss-characters and compound Bliss-words and then constructed their own Bliss-words. Children participated in a teaching procedure that included explanations and feedback on the structure and meaning of Bliss-characters. Their spontaneous interpretations of Bliss-characters and their ability to construct new Bliss-words were explored. Results suggest that Bliss-characters, although not very transparent, evoked spontaneous linguistic activities and were retained after brief explanations. Children aged 5 years and older appeared to discover the logic of the structure of Bliss-words. Children of all ages used Bliss-characters to represent new ideas. Some chose Bliss-characters resembling adult representations of concepts, others chose Bliss-characters representing personal associations. In sum, children retained many of the Bliss-characters after a relatively brief exposure and demonstrated semantic creativity in interpretation and construction of Bliss-words.

A comparison of two approaches for representing AAC vocabulary for young children

Purpose: Young children with complex communication needs often experience difficulty in using currently available graphic symbol systems as a method of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Information on young children's performance with graphic representations based on this population's conceptualizations of these vocabulary items may assist in the development of more effective AAC systems.Method: This study developed Developmentally Appropriate Symbols (DAS) for 10 early emerging vocabulary concepts using procedures designed to address both conceptual and appeal issues for graphic representations for young children. Using a post-test only, between-subjects comparison group design, 40 typically-developing 2.5–3.5-year-old children were randomly assigned to receive a brief training in either of two different types of graphic symbol sets: (a) DAS or (b) Picture Communication Symbols (PCS), a, commercially available graphic symbol system.Result: Results of a two sample independent t-test provide evidence that children in the DAS condition correctly identified more symbols than children trained with the PCS symbols. There was no evidence of a preference between the symbol sets.Conclusion: The results provide support for careful consideration of children's use and understanding of language in developing AAC systems for young children.

Common Mistakes in the Construction of Diagrams in Biological Contexts

Understanding diagrams plays an important role in everyday life, for example, if we want to understand the results of an election or properly interpret the graphic representation of news from the stock exchange. Electronic media in particular (AV media and computer-supported systems such as televisions, smartphones and tablet PCs) are increasingly using more graphic representations and visual symbol systems to simplify user guidance and present complex information in their online and offline ranges. One presumed advantage of these visual schematic illustrations is that links and relationships among data can be perceived more rapidly and vividly than if they were sequentially described in literary language (Kuckartz et al. 2010). This is one reason why graphics and other visualisations are often used in science in particular (Roth et al. 1999). In addition, it has been shown that the independent and active construction of diagrams by learners creates an environment that promotes learning (Cox 1999; Stern et al. 2003). In order to prepare students for a future that will necessitate skills for using graphic representations, the German ministries of education have adjusted their requirements for students. Accordingly, in the German curricula and (national) educational standards, mathematics is no longer the only subject in which students are taught how to interact with diagrams (KMK 2005)—they play a growing role in science. In subjects such as physics, chemistry and biology, the ability to independently construct and evaluate graphic representations of data is defined as an educational objective (Lachmayer 2008). In some German curricula, this ability Res Sci Educ (2015) 45:193–213 DOI 10.1007/s11165-014-9419-9

Comparison of the learnability and retention between Blissymbols and CyberGlyphs

There are a variety of graphic symbol sets/systems (GSSs) currently used in the field of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Various characteristics of these graphic symbol systems affect learnability and should be considered in order to make a meaningful match between the user of AAC and the system. Although a variety of studies on learnability of graphic systems have been conducted in the past, all studies conducted included participants from Western countries. To compare two symbol systems, namely Blissymbolics and CyberGlyphs in terms of learnability. To identify the overall performance between Blissymbolics and CyberGlyphs in terms of the percentage of symbols correctly identified at the various stages. A quasi-experimental crossover design between groups was carried out on two homogeneous groups of typically developing, Northern Sotho-speaking children. Data were obtained by teaching 80 different referents (40 from each symbol system) to 50 Northern Sotho speaking regular students from South Africa, ranging from grade 4 to 6. The participants were tested on symbol recognition at four different stages: after initial training, after a revision period, after a 7-day withdrawal period and after 30 days of withdrawal. The overall results indicated that the ease of learning and memory retention of the CyberGlyphs were higher than that of Blissymbols, irrespective of the group or the sequence of exposure. Possible reasons for the differences are discussed. CyberGlyphs seem to be more accessible as the symbols in general seem to be more detailed and also are meant to be hand drawn rather than computer or stencil produced. Within this context, CyberGlyphs could be easier to access visually than Blissymbolics, especially for children who do not have extensive experience in dealing with geometric shapes, particularly for the children who do not come from rich literacy backgrounds or who do not have rich visual perceptual experiences to draw from. Even though initial learning might be faster for CyberGlyphs than for Blissymbolics in certain populations, there may be other factors to consider when making a choice between the two graphic symbol systems. Within the clinical setting CyberGlyphs can provide the individual who uses AAC with a more user-friendly system as an entrance to the use of other graphic symbol systems. This may be especially important in contexts where issues surrounding poverty and lack of early exposure to literacy exist.

Communicating without Speech: Practical Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Communicating without Speech: Practical Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Selecting graphic symbols for an initial request lexicon: integrative review

The establishment of an initial request lexicon is often targeted when introducing augmentative and alternative communication systems to beginning communicators. For many of these individuals, graphic symbols provide an effective way to communicate requests to others. Because there are literally dozens of graphic symbol sets and systems to choose from, interventionists face the dilemma of selecting those that are deemed appropriate. This article integrates theory and research concerning the selection of graphic symbols for an initial request lexicon. Directions for further research are articulated, and, when the evidence permits, suggestions for clinical practice are offered.

Signing and lexical development in children with Down syndrome.

Language development in children with Down syndrome is delayed, on average, relative to general cognitive, motor and social development, and there is also evidence for specific delays in morphology and syntax, with many adults showing persistent problems in these areas. It appears that the combined use of signed and spoken input can boost early language development significantly, this evidence coming initially from single case-studies, and more recently from larger scale controlled studies. Research with typically developing hearing and deaf children, as well as children with Down syndrome, has demonstrated the importance of establishing joint attention for vocabulary development. Furthermore, studies carried out with children with Down syndrome indicate that reducing attentional demands may be especially important in scaffolding language development in this group. The use of signing strategies which have been found to facilitate language development in deaf children when signing to children with Down syndrome is discussed, as is the need for further research on this topic and on the importance of joint attention for the use of other augmentative and alternative communication systems, such as graphic symbol and picture systems.

A Study of What Young Children Interpret from a Sample of Picture Communication Symbols

While it is adults who design graphic symbol communication systems, it is often young children who use them. This study looks at what a group of typically developing children interpreted from a selection of Picture Communication Symbols (PCS). One third of the symbols were interpreted by the majority of subjects as the given PCS name. Six symbols (25%) were found to be easily guessable for the older subjects but not the younger subjects. 42% of the symbols were not easily guessable for the majority of subjects. All subjects could recognise the majority of symbols when presented in groups of four. The results suggest that young children approach graphic symbol systems from a very different perspective to adults and that this perspective changes as the child matures and begins formal education. Possible implications for clinical practice are discussed.

Teachers' Understanding of Graphic Representations of Quantitative Information

abstract Graphic communication is becoming an increasingly important form by which teachers and their students communicate in teaching and learning experiences. Through different forms of graphics, i.e. graphic symbol systems, teachers can promote learning in their classrooms or in other learning environments. The challenge for teachers is to realise that they and their learners do vary considerably in their understanding of graphic representations of data in subjects across the school curriculum. The study reported here focuses on the variations in secondary teachers' understanding of graphic representations of quantitative information. Twenty‐six Australian teachers, who were working in schools that were located in urban environments and who taught in a broad range of subject areas, participated in a study to reveal their conceptions of graphic representations of quantitative data. A qualitative analysis of the teachers experience with a set of seven graphics about an imaginary world revealed seven different conceptions of their experience of the graphics. These results of the teachers' experiences are discussed in relation to previous understandings of teaching and learning. They indicate the need for careful consideration that teachers approach graphics in qualitatively different ways which may influence the way that they teach graphics in their subject areas.

Semantic transparency and translucency in compound blissymbols

Blissymbolics is a graphic symbol system used for communication by individuals whose speech is nonfunctional. The transparency and translucency of Blissymbolics have been viewed in the context of the visual relationship between symbols and their referents. This article suggests a new perspective in the study of Blissymbolic transparency and translucency that is semantic conceptual. At present, only compound symbols are discussed. Semantic transparency/translucency is conceived in this article as representing the relationship between the composite meaning of symbol components and the symbol referent. This relationship is measured by guessability, and by subject rating of degree of agreement between the composite meaning of symbol components and the symbol referent. We hypothesized that semantic transparency/translucency is affected by referent prototypicality or uniqueness, and by the interpretation of thematic relationships of symbol components. In the present study, we investigated the effect of referent prototypicality. An experiment administered to nondisabled adult subjects demonstrated the contribution of referent prototypicality to semantic transparency/translucency. Implications for Blissymbol codability are discussed.

Effects of Initial Element Teaching in a Story-Telling Context on Blissymbol Acquisition and Generalization

Blissymbolics is a graphic symbol system used by individuals with little or no functional speech. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of initial teaching of semantic elements on compound Blissymbol acquisition, retention, and generalization in a story-telling context. The subjects included 40 preschool children with normal cognitive abilities (mean chronological age = 45 months) who were assigned to one of two groups. Group I was taught elements before being taught compounds that contained these elements. Group II was taught elements before being taught compounds consisting of elements that were not taught previously. In addition, both groups received instruction in a second set of compounds that were taught directly, that is, without first being taught the elements. The teaching procedures and materials were socially validated by experts in Blissymbol instruction. Results indicate that the initial teaching of elements did not contribute to compound acquisition and retention, but did facilitate generalization to untrained compound Blissymbols. The results are discussed in terms of considerations for selecting an initial lexicon and Blissymbol teaching and research.

The Comparative Translucency of Initial Lexical Items Represented in Five Graphic Symbol Systems and Sets

The comparative translucency within and across five aided augmentative and alternative symbol systems or sets (Blissymbols, Picsyms, PIC, PCS, and Rebus) for symbols representing three parts of speech (nouns, verbs, and modifiers) was investigated. A sample of 41 items representing an initial lexicon was rated by undergraduate college students on a 7-point scale of iconicity. Results indicate that translucency varies among systems or sets and among parts of speech. Rebus and PCS were the most translucent overall; however, a number of Blissymbolics, Picsyms, and PIC symbols were also rated as highly translucent. Caution is indicated in extrapolating results to young or retarded learners because of the influence of normal adult knowledge and experience on translucency ratings. Care must also be taken in extrapolating to more advanced lexicons containing larger, more developmentally advanced vocabularies.

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

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.

Transparency and Recall of Symbols among Intellectually Handicapped Adults

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the transparency and recall of symbols representing three parts of speech (nouns, verbs, descriptors) from three different graphic symbol systems (Blissymbols, Picture Communication System, and Picsyms) among adults with intellectual handicaps. Results suggested that the Picture Communication System (PCS) and Picsyms were more transparent and easier to learn than Blissymbols. Subjects correctly identified significantly fewer Blissymbols representing nouns than either PCS or Picsyms representing nouns. In early stages of recall for nouns, PCS and Picsyms were significantly easier to recall than Blissymbols. Implications of the data for symbol system selection use for persons with severe speech impairments are discussed.

図形シンボルシステムＮＳＬ８６による言語訓練 発語困難児の単語および語連鎖の学習:発語困難児の単語および語連鎖の学習

図形シンボルシステムＮＳＬ８６による言語訓練 発語困難児の単語および語連鎖の学習:発語困難児の単語および語連鎖の学習