This study sought to describe speech-language interventions for preschool-aged children who required AAC as provided by AAC experts and by general speech language pathologists who were not AAC experts. The study also examined the types of technology used in AAC intervention by AAC experts. A retrospective chart review was conducted in which clinic records of 38 preschoolaged children who received expert AAC services were examined. Results showed that interventions provided to the children by general speech language pathologists (who were not AAC experts) tended to be broader in scope, focusing on reducing underlying impairments. Interventions provided by AAC experts tended to focus on improving activities and participation and were oriented toward improving functional communication. The most commonly used AAC intervention tools by AAC experts were low tech and simple digitized devices.
Keywords
AAC; developmental disabilities; technologyYoung children with developmental disabilities are at risk for significant communication problems 1, 2 . These problems may be related to deficits in cognition, language, speech motor control, sensation, or several of these areas. Regardless of the cause, communication challenges can lead to educational and social isolation 1 , and can have a detrimental impact on nearly all aspects of development 2-4 .Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems and strategies are an important avenue to enhance communication development and social participation for anyone who cannot meet all of their communication needs using speech alone 5 . For young children who may be at-risk for communication challenges, Romski and Sevcik 1 suggest that AAC interventions should be introduced before communication failure occurs. AAC interventions can provide an important foundation for language development 1 , a tool for social participation 6 , and can serve to facilitate development of natural speech 7, 8 . Thus, even if a child with early risk factors eventually develops speech that is adequate for meeting all communication needs, early AAC intervention has other developmental benefits.Correspondence to: Katherine C. Hustad, Ph.D., Waisman Center, 1500 Highland Ave., Madison, WI 53705, kchustad@wisc.edu, voice (608) 265-9977, fax (608)
AAC Technology and Young ChildrenAAC systems and strategies can range from very simple to very complex. Technology can and often does play an important role in AAC, providing access, for example, to a large dynamic vocabulary and text-to-speech voice output. However, research has demonstrated that young children who are typically developing have difficulty using complex technology for communication, and although they do show learning over a period of weeks, their performance remains sub-optimal 11, 12 . Although research on typically developing children cannot be directly generalized to children with disabilities, it is probably a safe assumption that what is difficult for typical children would be even more difficult for children with various kinds ...
