AAC Flashcards
aided symbols
use of pictures, line drawings that is in addition to using body parts
uniaded symbols
no need for “other” things, use of signs, gestures, facial expressions
no tech
no battery source
low tech
easy to program without a manual
mid tech
range of ease between high and low technology
hi tech
requires high expertise, hardest to program
dedicated system
device is dedicated to communication (that is it’s only purpose)
nondedicated system
device can be used for communication, but it can be used for other things (i.e. computer, Vmax)
digitized
someone has to record and talk into it, used for someone who cannot generate their own language (most no to mid-low systems use this form of speech output)
synthesized
“computer talk” that is computer generated speech, sounds “robotic” and used by a person who can generate their own words (most devices that are high use this)
purpose of AAC
to allow interaction and participation in activities of choice
wants/needs
person’s own motivation to want to use an AAC and needing to use an AAC for communication purposes
transfer information
transfer of information that includes more novel vocabulary, less predicable, more personal/complex information that is exchanged (different from expressing wants/needs)
social closeness
includes activities and participation with others, maintaining personal relationships
social etiquette
things that we say or ways we act in response to others that make others think positive of us, makes them believe we are socialized and members of same community, culture
internal dialogue
talk we do with ourselves (how do we use communication with ourselves on a daily basis?) such as making lists, schedules, keeping diary/journal, being able to talk it in your own head
linguistic
knowledge of language that’s being spoken, language capacity, getting at how we assess (expressive and receptive), not just speech (phonology) but semantics, morphology, pragmatics, syntax
operational
knowledge of using actual system (device), consider how difficult or easy it is to operate (visual, cognitively)
social
pragmatic skills (taking turns, topic initiation, conversation termination, etc), interpersonal things (i.e. putting someone at ease), social competence (how to respond to a stranger’s unease at pt.’s system)
strategic
knowledge of bridging limitations (i.e. power going out), breakdown of technology, system stops working OR breakdown in communication, often needs to be taught (roleplay) and often times a lot
all communicators need:
linguistic, social and strategic (no operational)
factors that influence message selection
gender, age, social role, needs/preferences, environments
communication purposes
introduction, humor, social greetings, medical/physical needs, like/dislikes, emotional needs, strategies to initiate and end interactions, repair strategies, interjections, stories/experiences, questions, small talk
introduction
consider how you greet different people (example: you wouldn’t say, “What’s up?” to a professor or prospective employer; whereas you’d say that to a close friend)
humor
consider personal relations with the person you’re conversing with (example: a close friend may understand your sense of humor or even joking around versus a professor [depending on level of familiarity] you would be more apt to monitor yourself)
social greetings
consider the person that you greet, could be an acquaintance or close friend and depending on the relationship of the person, you may or may not be more formal or informal when greeting them
(example: “How’s it going?” vs “How are you today?” vs direct informational [like how’s your mom doing?])
medical/physical needs
consider what type of medical/physical needs the person has, also be aware of the sensitivity of the condition
(general word usage, plan of action for emergency situations, contact info person responsible, timing appropriateness)
likes/dislikes
consider the person’s preferences for anything that’s functionally related and or fringe vocabulary, also consider nonliterate individuals what symbols may be appropriate for their age
emotional needs
consider the most necessarily emotions that the person may display (core vocabulary & fringe vocab) and then add-on as necessary
strategies to initiate & end interactions
consider timing or appropriateness for initiation/end of interaction, also if choosing personal messages that are automated already or generic hi/bye ending
repair strategies
consider preprogrammed automated messages
(example: “I’m sorry, could you repeat that? I didn’t hear you the first time.” AND considering low tech you could have a sign or something to signal for communication breakdown or repairing)
interjections
consider the timing and appropriateness of interjections in conversations, consider the person’s physical ability to express this
stories/exepriences
consider the person’s situational/core vocab first, if not, maybe preprogrammed button
questions
consider the person asking questions that are general or more personal, depending on communication partner
small talk
consider social engagement with the person to interact with social interaction, depending on who the person is, you converse differently
How should we choose the vocabulary for the AAC system?
consider core vocabulary, consider fringe vocabulary, school vs. home talk, spoken vs. written communication
Should messages be general or specific?
depends entirely on the individual: consider the AAC system (low vs. high tech), consider cognitive ability, space availability
Should messages be single words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs?
depends entirely on the individual: may be appropriate to use all or some of these messages (ex: high cognitive person w/adequate physical movements may appropriately use all these forms), consider environment messages are being used as well as how physically able person is, cognitive ability of person, speed purposes
coverage vocabulary
vocabulary that is needed to communicate essential messages that contains messages that cover an individual’s basic individual needs (ex: person may use message: “I am having trouble breathing.” and may use it rarely but should be considered)
developmental vocabulary
words that an individual doesn’t know yet but selected to encourage language and vocabulary growth (not for functional purposes)
fringe vocabulary
words that are unique to the AAC user only
timing enhancement
messages that require careful timing in order to be appropriate (in regards to safety situations, things that are used on a daily basis/multiple times throughout the day)
message acceleration
accelerates communication rates (words/messages that occur frequently & are lengthy that are “key stroke savings” preprogrammed and speeds up rate in which person communicates with them)
fatigue reduction
words are coded into system to reduce fatigue, certain times of day a person is more apt to be tired
symbol
stands for or represents something else (“something else” is termed its referent)
iconicity
any association that an individual forms between a symbol and its referent
high iconicity
guessibility is high, easy to associate between symbol and referent
low iconicity
tougher to recognize or make connection between symbol and referent
transparent
shape, motion, or function of the referent is depicted to such an extent that the meaning of the symbol can be readily guessed in the absence of the referent (ex: photograph of a shoe)
high tranparency
equates to high iconicity
translucent
meaning of the referent may or may not be obvious but a relationship can be perceived between the symbol and the referent once the meaning is provided (ex: gestural movement of a palm up to indicate Stop!)
opaque
in which no [sympbol-referent] relationship is perceived even when the meaning of the symbol is known (ex: written word shoe)
high opaque
equates to low iconicity
aided symbols
symbols that require some type of external assistance, includes real objects and black-and-white line drawings, things person carries around
unaided symbols
symbols that require no external device for production, includes facial expressions, manual signs, natural speech and vocalization
Picture Communication Symbols (PCS)
simple black-and-white or color line drawings, highly transparent, symbols are somewhat transparent to written word
Widgit, Rebus symbols
visually or nominally represents a word or syllable (ex: rebus of knot could be used to symbolize either knot or not), symbols are more transparent with the written word, highly transparent
DynaSyms
symbol with printed word above it, uses color and realistic two-dimensional drawings with words, highly transparent
Pictograms
white-on-black symbols, drawing is more sophisticated than line-drawing, symbols appear easier to know if word was not present
manual sign system refers to 3 main types of system:
1) alternatives to spoken language of particular country (ex: ASL, Swedish Sign Language)
2) parallel spoken language (ex: manually coded English [MCE])
3) interact with or supplement another means of transmitting spoken language (ex: fingerspelling)
verbal speaking rates
150-250 words/minutes
nonverbal speaking rates
2-15 words/minutes
Children under 2.5 years of age have a more difficult time understanding symbols (ex: does not understand that “this” stands for something else)
true
fixed displays
refers to any display which symbols and items are “fixed” in a particular location, aka “static displays”, typically in low tech communication boards, number of symbols is limited
dynamic display
refers to computer screen displays with electronically produced visual symbols that when activated automatically change selection set on a screen to a new set of programmed symbols
visual scene
more real life symbols and ability to import real photographs, makes it highly contextualized display, embedded symbols/icons in the scene
Physical characteristics of displays include:
number of items, size, spacing and arrangement, orientation of display
number of items
number of messages, symbols, codes and commands required by the person using AAC
size
consider person’s item size and overall display size, visual display determined by person’s visual capabilities, motor access technique used, type of symbole
spacing and arrangement
where and how to space symbols/messages, determined largely by visual and motor control capabilities of an individual
orientation of display
refers to position of the display relative to the floor, depends on the person’s postural, visual and motoric capabilities
selection technique
refers to way a person who relies on AAC system selects or identifies items from the selection set
4 direct selection options:
1) physical pressure or depression
2) physical contact
3) pointing (no contact)
4) speech recognition
physical pressure or depression
device requires pressure for activation, may use body part (ex: finger, body)
physical contact
person selecting items with physical contact rather than pressure or depression
pointing (no contact)
selecting an item without physical contact (ex: eye gazing, eye blinking, optical laser)
speech recognition
typical speakers but were unable to write or control conventional computer keyboard opted for voice recognition strategies
scanning selection
person who relies on AAC indicate in some way that desired item has been presented using an electronic device or facilitator, employed due to lack of motoric control for direct selection, can be visual or auditory
3 types of scanning:
1) circular scanning
2) linear scanning
3) group-item scanning
circular scanning
device displays individual items in a circle and scans them electronically one at a time, until individual stops scanner and select item
linear scanning
cursor ligh or arrow moves across each item in the first row, each item in the second row, and each item in the subsequent row, until item is selected
group-item scanning
involves identifying a group of items and then eliminating options gradually until final selection is made
Types of team organizations:
1) multidisciplinary team
2) interdisciplinary team
3) transdisciplinary team
multidisciplinary team
each specialist independently completes her own portion of an AAC assessment and makes discipline-specific intervention decisions, team members then share results and intervention plans at a team meeting, each team member provides direct services to the student
interdisciplinary team
specialists also assess students individually but the meet to discuss their individual findings and make collaborative recommendations regarding an intervention plan, may meet regularly to discuss progress and make revisions in the intervention, usually overseen by one team member (case manager)
transdisciplinary team
information is shared among professionals so direct service providers become proficient in areas other than their primary specialties, assessment completed through collaborated efforts of all team members, followed by a team meeting to establish goals and objectives for intervention
3 assessment models:
1) candidacy model
2) communication needs model
3) participation model
candidacy model
criteria of an individual to see if they are a “candidate” or “eligible” for the use of an AAC system, may be “too something”, requires prerequisites of some sort
communication needs model
guideline based on a person’s communication needs and capabilities which include comunication strategies and technologies that could be used by individuals who were not literate
participation model
assessment based on functional participation requirements of peers without disabilities of the same chronological age as the person who may communicate through AAC
5 Types of Opportunity Barriers:
1) policy
2) practice
3) knowledge
4) skill barriers
5) attitude barriers
policy barrier
regulatory decisions that govern situations in which many individuals who use AAC find themselves (ex: written documentation that govern agency, school policies that separate AAC users from peers in regular education classes or “limited use” policy in hospitals)
practice barrier
procedures or conventions that have become common in a family, school, or workplace but are not actual policies (ex: staff of agency may think that long standing practices are legislated polices)
knowledge barrier
lack of information on a part of someone other than the person who uses AAC that results in limited opportunities for participation
skill barrier
supporters have difficulty with the actual implementation of an AAC technique or strategy
attitude barrier
in which attitude and beliefs by an individual presents a barrier to participation
opportunity barrier
refers to barriers that are imposed by other people other than the person with the severe communication disorder and cannot be eliminated simply by providing AAC system or intervention
access barrier
limitations in the current capabilities of individual or his/her current communication system (ex: person’s AAC system does not have sufficient memory or appropriate vocabulary for activity)
intelligibility
refers to adequacy of the acoustic signal to convey information
supplemental intelligibility
refers to extent to which listener can understand an individual’s speech when he or she is provided with contextual information; such as topic, first letters of words, and gestures
