Long-term outcomes for individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication: Part II – communicative interaction

Abstract

This study evaluated the communicative interaction skills of seven young men (ages 19-23 years) who had used AAC systems for at least 15 years. Turn-taking patterns, use of communicative functions, and linguistic complexity were analyzed. Current performance was compared to the participants' skills when they were preschoolers and participated in another study of interaction skills (Light, 1985; Light, Collier, & Parnes, 1985a,b,c). Results indicated that the turn distribution between partners was more equitable than it had been when the participants were preschoolers; five of the participants approached reciprocity in turn taking during at least two of the interactions observed. During interactions with their caregivers, the participants fulfilled most of their obligatory turns and more than half of their non-obligatory turns. The communicative functions used most frequently by the participants were confirmations/denials and provisions of information. Three of the participants demonstrated the ability to use complete and complex syntax and committed few errors in grammar, while the other four participants demonstrated many syntactic errors. The results are discussed with implications for clinical practice and directions for future research.

Designing AAC Research and Intervention to Improve Outcomes for Individuals with Complex Communication Needs

“…Hamm and Mirenda (2006) examined long-term outcomes for eight participants with developmental disabilities and found that those with greater communicative competence also reported higher quality of life outcomes. Lund and Light (2006;2007a, 2007b) also reported retrospectively on the long-term outcomes of AAC intervention -this time with a cohort of participants with severe physical and speech impairments who had received AAC intervention over a 15-year period. They documented outcomes across various levels of the ICF model, including body functions, activities, and participation (e.g., receptive language, reading comprehension, communicative interaction, educational and vocational achievement, self-determination, quality of life).…”

Teaching Latino Parents to Support the Multi-Symbol Message Productions of their Children who Require AAC

“…Children who require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) (e.g., communication boards, speech-generating devices) are at high risk for expressive language difficulties (e.g., Lund & Light, 2007). One particularly challenging transition is the shift from the use of single-to multi-symbol utterances; children using AAC tend to rely on single symbol messages to communicate (see Binger & Light, 2008, for a review).…”

The effect of pause time upon the communicative interactions of young people who use augmentative and alternative communication

“…In the studies mentioned above, the partners frequently used a higher occurrence of closed or rhetorical questions, directives and requests for information with people who use AAC (Lund & Light, 2007). These elicit restricted responses compared to typical conversations where the use of "wh" and open questions is more prevalent.…”

“…(Carter & Maxwell, 1998;Downing, 2005;Lund & Light, 2007;Myers, 2007). Lund and Light (2007) (Light & Binger, 1998;Light et al, 1985). Obligatory conversational turns require a response such as open and closed questions; non-obligatory turns are those to which a response is optional, such as comments and statements.…”

“…In order for the delivery of AAC services to be effective in achieving these goals, assessment and intervention needs to occur in natural environments and include communication partners. responses to the communication attempts of the person using AAC and not pausing long enough to provide opportunity for a turn to occur (Carter & Maxwell, 1998;Downing, 2005;Lund & Light, 2007;Myers, 2007). In addition, people using AAC are unique in …”