Reading, Writing and AAC: Mobile Technology Strategies for Literacy and Language Development

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-25
Author(s):  
Kerry Davis ◽  
Sean Sweeney
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Language And Literacy ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Powerful Means ◽  
Communication Impairments ◽  
Technology Strategies

Mobile technology (e.g., tablets, smartphones) continues to take public school and overall therapeutic environments by storm. The merging of mobile technology and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) can be a relatively low-cost solution for individuals with communication impairments. Still, practitioners need to be equipped to make informed decisions about when, how, and why specific mobile technologies and related applications might support a child's language, literacy, and academic skills, possibly in conjunction with AAC. Language and literacy development are a critical aspect of a speech-language pathologist's scope of practice (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2007). Therefore, when considering mobile technologies for learning, the practitioner needs to consider the interplay between reading, writing, and communication. For children with complex communication profiles, speech-language pathologists can use mobile technologies as a powerful means to foster communication, language, and literacy skills.

Word-Finding Support From Mobile Technology Benefits a Woman With Aphasia

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Gillette
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Clinical Education ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Feature Matching ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Alternative Intervention ◽  
Communication Assessment ◽  
Word Finding ◽  
Intervention Costs

Mobile technology provides a solution for individuals who require augmentative and alternative intervention. Principles of augmentative and alternative communication assessment and intervention, such as feature matching and the participation model, developed with dedicated speech-generating devices can be applied to these generic mobile technologies with success. This article presents a clinical review of an adult with aphasia who reached her goals for greater communicative participation through mobile technology. Details presented include device selection, sequence of intervention, and funding issues related to device purchase and intervention costs. Issues related to graduate student clinical education are addressed. The purpose of the article is to encourage clinicians to consider mobile technology when intervening with an individual diagnosed with mild receptive and moderate expressive aphasia featuring word-finding difficulties.

Thomas the Writer

1995 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doreen M. Blischak
Keyword(s):  
Literacy Development ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Vision Impairment ◽  
Second Grade ◽  
Language And Literacy ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Central Vision ◽  
Grade Classroom

A case study is presented to describe the development of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and literacy skills by a 9-year-old child, Thomas, who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy and a central vision impairment. Thomas’s development and progress from birth to second grade is chronicled. Development and use of his AAC system also is described, along with activities for language and literacy development and his inclusion in a second grade classroom.

Recent Advances in Augmentative and Alternative Communication

2015 ◽  
pp. 128-140
Author(s):  
Toby B. Mehl-Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Complex Communication Needs ◽  
Novel Technologies ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Assessment And Treatment ◽  
Communication Needs

With the increased development of mobile technologies, such as smartphones and tablets (i.e. iPhone, iPad), the field of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) has changed rapidly over the last few years. Recent advances in technology have introduced applications (apps) for AAC purposes. These novel technologies could provide numerous benefits to individuals with complex communication needs. Nevertheless, introducing mobile technology apps is not without risk. Since these apps can be purchased and retrieved with relative ease, AAC assessments and collaborative evaluations have been circumvented in favor of the “quick fix”-simply ordering a random app for a potential user, without fully assessing the individual's needs and abilities. There is a paucity of research pertaining to mobile technology use in AAC. Therapists, parents and developers of AAC applications must work collaboratively to expand the research pertaining to the assessment and treatment of children who utilize AAC mobile technologies for communication purposes.

Recent Advances in Augmentative and Alternative Communication

2016 ◽  
pp. 2236-2248
Author(s):  
Toby B. Mehl-Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Complex Communication Needs ◽  
Novel Technologies ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Assessment And Treatment ◽  
Communication Needs

With the increased development of mobile technologies, such as smartphones and tablets (i.e. iPhone, iPad), the field of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) has changed rapidly over the last few years. Recent advances in technology have introduced applications (apps) for AAC purposes. These novel technologies could provide numerous benefits to individuals with complex communication needs. Nevertheless, introducing mobile technology apps is not without risk. Since these apps can be purchased and retrieved with relative ease, AAC assessments and collaborative evaluations have been circumvented in favor of the “quick fix”-simply ordering a random app for a potential user, without fully assessing the individual's needs and abilities. There is a paucity of research pertaining to mobile technology use in AAC. Therapists, parents and developers of AAC applications must work collaboratively to expand the research pertaining to the assessment and treatment of children who utilize AAC mobile technologies for communication purposes.

AAC Decision-Making and Mobile Technology: Points to Ponder

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Ann Abbott ◽  
Debby McBride
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Communication System ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Ipod Touch ◽  
Feature Match

The purpose of this article is to outline a decision-making process and highlight which portions of the augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) evaluation process deserve special attention when deciding which features are required for a communication system in order to provide optimal benefit for the user. The clinician then will be able to use a feature-match approach as part of the decision-making process to determine whether mobile technology or a dedicated device is the best choice for communication. The term mobile technology will be used to describe off-the-shelf, commercially available, tablet-style devices like an iPhone®, iPod Touch®, iPad®, and Android® or Windows® tablet.

scholarly journals Integrating Visual Methods With Dialogical Interviews in Research With Youth Who Use Augmentative and Alternative Communication

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 160940691775094 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gail Teachman ◽  
Barbara E. Gibson
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Photo Elicitation ◽  
Visual Methods ◽  
Data Generation ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Integrated Methods ◽  
Combination Of Methods ◽  
Communication Impairments

Scant information is available to guide the selection and modification of methods for doing research with people with communication impairments. In this article, we describe and illustrate a novel combination of methods used to optimize data generation in research with 13 disabled youth who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Using a critical dialogical methodology developed for the study, we explored links between dominant calls for social inclusion, disabled youths’ social relations and life circumstances, and their position-takings in relation to inclusion. Building on emergent methodologies, we selected and integrated complementary methods: photo-elicitation, a graphic elicitation method termed “Belonging Circles,” observations, and interviews. The interview methods were modified to recognize all AAC modes used by participants and to acknowledge the relational, situated and thus, dialogical nature of all communication in interviews. Each method is described, and rationales for their selection and modification are discussed. Processes used to combine the methods, generate data, and guide analysis are illustrated using a case example from the study. The integrated methods helped illuminate the lives and practices of youth who use AAC and the strategies they used to negotiate inclusion across the social spaces that they traversed. We conclude with reflections on the strengths and limitations of our approach, future directions for development of the methodology, and its potential use in research with a broad range of persons experiencing communication impairments.

Inverted Constructivism to Leverage Mobile-Technology-Based Active Learning

2018 ◽  
pp. 240-258
Author(s):  
Doo Hum Lim ◽  
Kristie Tschopp-Harris
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Design Development ◽  
The Social

The classroom environment in the 21st century has increasingly utilized many types of technologies as supplemental tools for teaching and learning including instructional design, development, and delivery. The level at which schools are encompassing more technology is often restrained by financial constraints and rapid advances in the static equipment, making the equipment outdated within a short period of time. However, the use of relatively low cost mobile technologies such as tablets and cell phones in the classroom setting have reduced the social and logistical barriers in education and enhanced the creative active learning processes. The primary objective of this chapter is to offer insights into the importance of using mobile technology to educate students in today's connected society and to identify the multi-faceted advantages of mobile technology within an active learning curriculum design to encourage a meaningful learner-centered experience.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document