Attributes of Communication Aids as Described by Those Supporting Children and Young People with AAC

Autor/inn/en	Judge, Simon; Murray, Janice; Lynch, Yvonne; Meredith, Stuart; Moulam, Liz; Randall, Nicola; Whittle, Helen; Goldbart, Juliet
Titel	Attributes of Communication Aids as Described by Those Supporting Children and Young People with AAC
Quelle	In: International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 58 (2023) 3, S.910-928 (19 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Judge, Simon) ORCID (Murray, Janice) ORCID (Lynch, Yvonne) ORCID (Randall, Nicola) ORCID (Goldbart, Juliet)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1368-2822
DOI	10.1111/1460-6984.12833
Schlagwörter	Assistive Technology; Augmentative and Alternative Communication; Decision Making; Children; Computer Software Selection; Vocabulary + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Decision-making; Entscheidungsfindung; Child; Kind; Kinder; Wortschatz
Abstract	Background: Those supporting children and young people who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) contribute to ongoing complex decision-making about communication aid selection and support. Little is known about how these decisions are made in practice and how attributes of the communication aid are described or considered. Aims: To understand how communication aid attributes were described by those involved in AAC recommendations and support for children and young people, and how these attributes were described as impacting on AAC use. Methods & Procedures: A secondary qualitative analysis was completed of interview and focus group data from 91 participants involved in the support of 22 children and young people. Attributes of communication aids described by participants were extracted as themes and this paper reports a descriptive summary of the identified software (non-hardware) attributes. Main Contribution: Decisions were described in terms of comparisons between commercially available pre-existing vocabulary packages. Attributes related to vocabulary, graphic representation, consistency and intuitiveness of design, and ease of editing were identified. Developmental staging of vocabularies, core and fringe vocabulary, and vocabulary personalization were attributes that were described as being explicitly considered in decisions. The potential impact of graphic symbol choice did not seem to be considered strongly. The physical and social environment was described as the predominant factor driving the choice of a number of attributes. Conclusions & Implications: Specific attributes that appear to be established in decision-making in these data have limited empirical research literature. Terms used in the literature to describe communication aid attributes were not observed in these data. Practice-based evidence does not appear to be supported by the available research literature and these findings highlight several areas where empirical research is needed in order to provide a robust basis for practice. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01