Development of AAC Vocabulary List for Community Living of People with Communication Disabilities - Focusing on Public Institutions

Abstract

Background and Objectives: The purpose of this study was to provide basic resource necessary for communication in public institutions by developing an Augmentative and Alternative Communication(AAC) vocabulary list for community living for people with communication disabilities. Method: Using Google Maps platform, a list of the favorite places of people in the community was made and 12 public institutions were selected. Vocabularies appropriate to each place were developed and importance of vocabulary was presented using a 5-point Likert scale. Vocabulary validity tests were conducted two times on parents with children with developmental disabilities and also on AAC experts. Results: Firstly, as a result of the vocabulary importance test, a total of 307 vocabularies were derived by selecting vocabularies with an average of 3.5 or higher. Secondly, as a result of analyzing the finally selected vocabularies, most words were nouns followed by verbs and adjectives. Discussion and Conclusion: The vocabulary list generated in this study can be used as a fundamental resource for vocabulary instruction for people with communication disabilities, including those with developmental disabilities, at public institutions in the community.