| Description of good practice: |
Augmentative and Alternative Communication:
For those with limited or no speech because of severe cognitive, physical, neurological, or neuropsychological impairments, including people with autistic spectrum disorders, Augmentative Alternative Communication is a means of communicating with others. “AAC is also useful for people with difficulty of understanding language, with specific
language disorders, and as a bridge to literacy”.
AAC can enhance the development of expressive and receptive language, may reduce frustration, and increase personal empowerment, as it provides the person with a means of communication. Consequently, social interactions improve individual learning and emotional development. The literature demonstrates that the use of an AAC system also increases an individual’s self-confidence and self-esteem.
AT to support communication:
Activities of learning and using these communication codes have traditionally supported by foldable and easily portable paper sheets. Amongst the high-tech methods of communication, Voice Output Communication Aids (VOCAs) are the most common. Typically they are battery-powered and operate like a simplified tape recorder. Most are the size of a notebook or smaller and have buttons or target areas which trigger the playback of recorded words or short phrases. Most VOCAs use digitized speech, a human voice recorded in the device. When the user presses or activates the message button, the VOCA plays a spoken message.
From the point of view of the chosen communication code, two main groups of devices to support AAC are the following:
• Alphabetic devices supporting the user’s communication through the alphabetic letters; the message may appear on a screen alone or be spoken by a speech synthesizer;
• Symbolic devices based on a symbolic or graphical code; these range from very simple one-message VOCAs to very complex ones, with a large number of recorded messages.
Communication devices come in many sizes to suit different user’s motor abilities. Some can work in a scanning mode, controlled by a simple switch. There are software products, which help create one’s own communication board on the computer screen by means of
a symbolic or alphabetic code. Electronic vocabularies of the popular symbolic codes are available in the international specialized market. Obviously, there are users who employ a word processor as a communication device.
Choosing and using AT for communication:
It is important to select a device based on each person’s communication needs and desires via determining the appropriate method of access and choosing a suitable communication code.
A communication device can be difficult for users who suffer from multiple impairments, such as cognitive and/or physical impairment; in these cases a long training period is required how to operate these tools. The time for training can impact significantly the effectiveness of the educational program. Another vital success factor is parental
involvement.
Size and portability of the communication device should be considered, since it has to be mounted on a wheelchair or a walker, or carried in one’s schoolbag. As the student becomes more proficient in using the device, the number of choices he/she is able to make with it can be increased.
Sometimes a device can be upgraded instead of another purchased, e.g. by building connections between various communication tables and by providing the student with a more complex technique. The upgrade of a device saves money and time for mastering another technique. |
