For individuals with complex communication needs, one of the most frequent communicative strategies is the co-construction of meaning with familiar partners. This preliminary single-case study gives insight into a special sequential pattern of co-construction processes - the search sequence - particularly in relation to the processes of confirming and denying meanings proposed by familiar interaction partners. Five different conversations between an adult with cerebral palsy and complex communication needs and two familiar co-participants were videotaped and analyzed using the methodology of conversation analysis (CA). The study revealed that confirmations and denials are not simply two alternative actions, but that several possibilities to realize confirmations and denials exist that differ in their frequency and that have different consequences for the sequential context. This study of confirmations and denials demonstrates that co-construction processes are more complex than have previously been documented.

This paper investigates communication, including computer-based speech aids by people with severe cerebral palsy—namely Augmented and Alternative Communication, AAC. The reduced bodily capacities and the “uncontrolled bodies” of CP sufferers make bodily synchronization with their partners a considerable challenge. What is more, the electronic speech aid not only produces a disembodied language (synthetic speech), but also has a massive impact on the mutual corporeal attunement of the participants. It will be shown that these detrimental effects of AAC can lead to a breakdown in temporal, sequential and topical structure, and to interactional failure and lack of understanding. However, there are ways to overcome these risks—for example, a “moderator” who channels and controls co-participants’ activities despite the Augmented/Alternative Communicator’s focus on the machine, even during the production of a complex utterance. Thus the machine can be “embodied,” and the interaction can—despite CP—become an “intercorporeal” one.

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ZusammenfassungDie gemeinsame Entwicklung einer Äußerung durch mindestens 2 Gesprächsteilnehmerinnen oder -teilnehmer – die sogenannte Ko-Konstruktion – ist für Menschen mit schwer verständlicher oder fehlender Lautsprache eine häufig verwendete Kommunikationsstrategie. Eine genaue Analyse zeigt, dass es verschiedene Arten der Ko-Konstruktion gibt, die sich in Form und Funktion unterscheiden. 2 häufig auftretende Muster sind die verständnissichernden Reparaturen sowie Hint und Guess-Sequenzen. Bei verständnissichernden Reparaturen zeigt die Gesprächspartnerin, dass zum Verständnis eine weitere Information notwendig ist, die von der unterstützt kommunizierenden Person gegeben wird. Bei einer Hint und Guess-Sequenz macht die Gesprächspartnerin auf der Grundlage der gegebenen unvollständigen Information und des eigenen Kontextwissens Vorschläge, die von der unterstützt kommunizierenden Person verworfen oder bestätigt werden.

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