Comparative Effects of High-Tech Visual Scene Displays and Low-Tech Isolated Picture Symbols on Engagement From Students With Multiple Disabilities

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 693-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Holyfield ◽  
Sydney Brooks ◽  
Allison Schluterman

Purpose Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is an intervention approach that can promote communication and language in children with multiple disabilities who are beginning communicators. While a wide range of AAC technologies are available, little is known about the comparative effects of specific technology options. Given that engagement can be low for beginning communicators with multiple disabilities, the current study provides initial information about the comparative effects of 2 AAC technology options—high-tech visual scene displays (VSDs) and low-tech isolated picture symbols—on engagement. Method Three elementary-age beginning communicators with multiple disabilities participated. The study used a single-subject, alternating treatment design with each technology serving as a condition. Participants interacted with their school speech-language pathologists using each of the 2 technologies across 5 sessions in a block randomized order. Results According to visual analysis and nonoverlap of all pairs calculations, all 3 participants demonstrated more engagement with the high-tech VSDs than the low-tech isolated picture symbols as measured by their seconds of gaze toward each technology option. Despite the difference in engagement observed, there was no clear difference across the 2 conditions in engagement toward the communication partner or use of the AAC. Conclusions Clinicians can consider measuring engagement when evaluating AAC technology options for children with multiple disabilities and should consider evaluating high-tech VSDs as 1 technology option for them. Future research must explore the extent to which differences in engagement to particular AAC technologies result in differences in communication and language learning over time as might be expected.

2004 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 1424-1439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen A. Fallon ◽  
Janice Light ◽  
David McNaughton ◽  
Kathryn Drager ◽  
Carol Hammer

Current literature suggests a lack of empirically validated strategies for teaching reading skills to children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). The current study implemented a single-subject, multiple-probe-across-subjects design to investigate the effects of direct instruction in single-word reading on the performance of students who use AAC. The instructional program targeted the reading skills of 5 participants who had severe speech impairments and ranged in age from 9 to 14 years old. All 5 participants reached criterion for matching targeted written words to corresponding pictures. Three of the 5 participants demonstrated generalization of reading skills to novel-word reading, and 4 of the 5 generalized reading skills to book contexts. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 1272-1281
Author(s):  
Kelsey Mandak ◽  
Janice Light ◽  
David McNaughton

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the Transition to Literacy (T2L) feature within video visual scene displays (VSDs) on the single-word reading of academic vocabulary concepts (i.e., weather concepts) by a preliterate adolescent with cerebral palsy and minimal speech. Method A single-subject, multiple-probe, across-word-sets design was used to evaluate the effects of the intervention. The intervention used an augmentative and alternative communication app programmed with video VSDs embedded with hot spots with the T2L feature to teach the adolescent 12 academic vocabulary words. Results The adolescent acquired all target words successfully with only minimal exposure to the written words through the app and was able to generalize her learning to two novel tasks. Using Tau-U to evaluate the size of the observed effects, there were very large effects across all word sets. Conclusions The findings from this study demonstrate the effectiveness of the T2L feature to improve single-word reading in preliterate individuals with minimal speech. The use of video VSDs and T2L technology together may offer professionals a unique way to complement current augmentative and alternative communication devices and literacy instruction for adolescents with minimal speech who are preliterate.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (12) ◽  
pp. 110-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gat Savaldi-Harussi ◽  
Gloria Soto

This paper exemplifies the process we used to customize the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT) software to monitor a wide range of language measures for children who use high-tech speech-generating devices (SGDs) when taking into consideration two main characteristics of aided communication: multimodality and co-constructed interaction structure. General considerations relevant to Language Sampling and Analysis (LSA) and examples of their applications are described in conversations between young aided speakers (child) and natural speakers (adult) and include the following stages: (a) eliciting and videotaping a representative sample of the child's language; (b) transcribing verbatim the language sample according to SALT conventions and modifications; and (c) analyzing the language sample with the common SALT commands and new variables (codes) measures. Our findings suggest that SALT software can be easily adapted and used as a tool for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) evidence-based practice.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feruz Mohammed

AbstractAttention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a persistent pattern of behaviours characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. This study evaluates the effects of a tailored Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management (IYTCM) programme aimed to improve participating children's on-task behaviour in a group of 6 to 10 year old children with ADHD in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The effectiveness of the IYTCM programme has been extensively examined for children with conduct disorder and/or behaviour and emotional issues, but not specifically with children with ADHD. In the present study, the effects of the IYTCM were examined on individual children with ADHD symptoms. Nine children identified with ADHD symptoms on the basis of teacher and parent reports of behaviour and nine normative comparison children were also selected from the same classrooms. Ten teachers received the tailored IYTCM-ADHD training for about 36 hours. A single-subject design was implemented to record the behaviour changes over time: at baseline, during teacher training with the IYTCM-ADHD programme, and at both immediate and long-term follow-ups. In addition to visual analysis, a non-parametric test was used to examine the magnitude of effect in each child. The result of the study indicated that the on-task behaviour of participating children with ADHD increased by the conclusion of the study ranging from 46% to 100%. Visual analysis also indicated that the children's behaviour was maintained during the follow-up phases. The pre- and post-intervention analyses of children with ADHD showed a significant effect of the intervention on each child. In light of the findings, limitations and implications for future research are discussed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Barton-Hulsey ◽  
Jane Wegner ◽  
Nancy C. Brady ◽  
Betty H. Bunce ◽  
Rose A. Sevcik

Purpose Three children ages 3;6 to 5;3 with developmental and language delays were provided experience with a traditional grid-based display and a contextually organized visual scene display on a speech-generating device to illustrate considerations for practice and future research in augmentative and alternative communication assessment and intervention. Method Twelve symbols were taught in a grid display and visual scene display using aided input during dramatic play routines. Teaching sessions were 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week for 3 weeks. Symbol comprehension and use was assessed pre and post 3 weeks of experience. Results Comprehension of symbol vocabulary on both displays increased after 3 weeks of experience. Participants 1 and 2 used both displays largely for initiation. Participant 3 had limited expressive use of either display. Conclusions The methods used in this study demonstrate one way to inform individual differences in learning and preference for speech-generating device displays when making clinical decisions regarding augmentative and alternative communication supports for a child and their family. Future research should systematically examine the role of extant comprehension, symbol experience, functional communication needs, and the role of vocabulary type in the learning and use of grid displays versus visual scene displays.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-50
Author(s):  
David Allen ◽  

Loanwords in Japanese that share form and meaning with English words are referred to as Japanese-English cognates (e.g., ラジオ /radӡio/ “radio”) and are of fundamental concern for researchers concerned with vocabulary learning and instruction. This concern is reflected in the growing body of research into Japanese-English cognates in applied linguistics, which has addressed a wide range of questions in different contexts and with various methodologies. However, the research relevant to applied linguists appears not only in various domestic and international learning- and teaching-focused publications, but also in the feeder disciplines of linguistics, sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics. Consequently, identifying published research on Japanese-English cognates presents a considerable challenge for the applied linguist, which may in turn hinder progression in the field. Therefore, this article reports a comprehensive yet non-exhaustive literature search, which yielded a corpus of 130 research publications, for which a full reference list is provided. Furthermore, an overview and synthesis of the research is given, illustrating how cognates are typically treated in the feeder disciplines and in studies focusing on language learning and/or teaching, and assessment. Based on this synthesis, the following key areas for future research are identified: learners’ identification and use of cognates in English, their knowledge of loanwords in Japanese, their attitudes and beliefs towards cognates, researchers’ categorisation of cognates, whether classroom teaching approaches to cognates impact learning outcomes, and the extent of the cognate advantage in a range of assessment formats.


Author(s):  
Charles Auerbach ◽  
Wendy Zeitlin

Single-subject research designs have been used to build evidence to the effective treatment of problems across various disciplines, including social work, psychology, psychiatry, medicine, allied health fields, juvenile justice, and special education. This book serves as a guide for those desiring to conduct single-subject data analysis. The aim of this text is to introduce readers to the various functions available in SSD for R, a new, free, and innovative software package written in R, the robust open-source statistical programming language written by the book’s authors. SSD for R has the most comprehensive functionality specifically designed for the analysis of single-subject research data currently available. SSD for R has numerous graphing and charting functions to conduct robust visual analysis. Besides the ability to create simple line graphs, features are available to add mean, median, and standard deviation lines across phases to help better visualize change over time. Graphs can be annotated with text. SSD for R contains a wide variety of functions to conduct statistical analyses traditionally conducted with single-subject data. These include numerous descriptive statistics and effect size functions and tests of statistical significance, such as t tests, chi-squares, and the conservative dual criteria. Finally, SSD for R has the capability of analyzing group-level data. Readers are led step by step through the analytical process based on the characteristics of their data. Numerous examples and illustrations are provided to help readers understand the wide range of functions available in SSD for R and their application to data analysis and interpretation.


ReCALL ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Gillespie

AbstractThis article considers the current position of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) research by producing an integrative synthetic overview of all the articles published in three leading international CALL journals: ReCALL (in its 31st year of publication), the CALICO Journal (its 36th) and Computer Assisted Language Learning journal (its 32nd) over a sustained recent period: 2006–2016. They are judged sufficiently representative to enable broad trends to be detected and the sector’s strengths and weaknesses to be identified. The focus is on CALL research’s international reach, the range of topics researched and the nature of the studies themselves. The findings suggest that CALL research is growing internationally in the number of countries and researchers involved. A wide range of topics is researched, but there is a concentration of papers published on a cluster of popular areas. Consequently, fewer articles are published on a large number of CALL topics or, in some cases, rarely studied. The research methods employed are rigorous: in writing, structure, theory, literature awareness, and discussion and presentation of results, yet there are still weaknesses. Most empirical studies are small scale: based on one institution, a small cohort of students, over a short period of time and seldom followed up. Based on these findings, suggestions are made with a view to broadening and strengthening CALL research through targeting neglected strategic areas with special journal issues and conferences, and improving the quality of research projects. Key areas for future research are proposed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 856-869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Malboeuf-Hurtubise ◽  
Eric Lacourse ◽  
Catherine Herba ◽  
Geneviève Taylor ◽  
Leila Ben Amor

Mindfulness-based interventions constitute a promising option to address anxiety and depression in elementary school students. This study evaluated the effect of a mindfulness-based intervention on anxiety and depression in elementary school students with a diagnosis of anxiety or depression disorder. A single-subject experimental A-B-A design was used. Participants were three elementary school students from grades three and four, along with their teacher. Anxiety and depression were measured on 10 occasions at baseline, during the intervention, and at follow-up. Primary hypotheses were tested using a univariate single case multilevel modeling strategy and visual analysis. Following intervention, 2 participants reported improvements on anxiety and depression, while their teachers reported deteriorating scores on these variables. Results from this n-of-1 trial design is consistent with other work suggesting caution with regard to the overall impact and efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions as a universal treatment option for youth. Future research is warranted.


Author(s):  
Lalan Erlani ◽  
Tati Narawati ◽  
Zaenal Alimin

This study aims to improve the ability of dynamics musical skills of autistic student using Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) media. Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interventions have been shown to improve both communication and learning skills in children and youth with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities. There are many strategies educators use to aid a child to communicate. Visual aides have been used successfully in helping children with autism communicate. A picture system called AAC Media allows teachers to make pictures to help students on the spectrum communicate. The method that being used in this study is experimental method with single subject research approach and using the design of A–B pattern. Data collection technique that being used are observation and documentation. And data analysis technique that being used is visual analysis in condition. The results of this research indicate that musical dynamic skills in music subject could be improved by using AAC media. The use of AAC media brings positive impact towards autistic students skills in musical dynamic. Therefore, teachers can apply the using of AAC media on music subject activities in school.


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