Performance of Typically Developing Four- and Five-Year-Old Children With AAC Systems Using Different Language Organization Techniques
By Light, Janice; Drager, Kathryn; McCarthy, John; Mellott, Suzanne; Millar, Diane; Parrish, Craig; Parsons, Arielle; Rhoads, Stacy; Ward, Maricka; Welliver, Michelle; Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 63-88Publication Date: June 2004
Paper presents the results of two studies designed to investigate the learning demands of four different approaches to the layout and organization of language in electronic augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems: (1) taxonomic grid, (2) schematic grid, (3) schematic scene, and (4) iconic encoding techniques. In the taxonomic and schematic grid conditions the target vocabulary items were organized on four different vocabulary pages in a DynaVox dynamic display system. The schematic scene organization was created using Companion software on the Freestyle system. For the iconic encoding technique, the Condensed Unity software on the Liberator was used, which provided a preprogrammed body of vocabulary. Eighty typically developing children participated in the two studies. Ten children in each study were randomly assigned to each of the four system organization conditions. The children were introduced to target vocabulary items in a series of four learning and testing sessions. Half of the vocabulary items were concrete concepts and half were abstract concepts. Results of the studies indicate that the participants were more accurate locating target vocabulary in the three dynamic display conditions than in the iconic encoding condition. The children demonstrated greater accuracy with the concrete vocabulary items than the abstract ones. Implications for practice and directions for further research are discussed.
Assistive Products Discussed: DYNAVOX 3100
DYNAVOX WINDOWS 2.0
LIBERATOR II
DYNAVOX MAC 2.0
Published by: International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) (Website:http://www.isaac-online.org)
