Augmentative and Alternative Communication and Remote Learning

2021 ◽  
pp. 875687052110525
Author(s):  
Marla J. Lohmann ◽  
Alexandria Kappel ◽  
Matthew S. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Virtual Classroom ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Individualized Education Programs ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Language Disabilities ◽  
Online Classrooms ◽  
Access Services ◽  
Remote Learning

For rural locations, the use of remote learning may provide schools the opportunity to meet student needs without the need for students to travel long distances to access services. It is critical that teachers of students with disabilities understand how to support learning and know how to use the accommodations, modifications, and assistive technologies listed in student Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) in online classrooms. Students with language disabilities sometimes require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems to effectively communicate. This article provides teachers with practical tips of teaching students to use AAC online and supporting its continued use in the virtual classroom.

scholarly journals Tracking and Classification of Head Movement for Augmentative and Alternative Communication Systems

Sensors ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 435
Author(s):  
Carlos Wellington P. Gonçalves ◽  
Rogério A. Richa ◽  
Antonio P. L. Bo
Keyword(s):  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Markov Models ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Functional Movement ◽  
Involuntary Movements ◽  
Motor Disabilities

The use of assistive technologies can mitigate or reduce the challenges faced by individuals with motor disabilities to use computer systems. However, those who feature severe involuntary movements often have fewer options at hand. This work describes an application that can recognize the user’s head using a conventional webcam, track its motion, model the desired functional movement, and recognize it to enable the use of a virtual keyboard. The proposed classifier features a flexible structure and may be personalized for different user need. Experimental results obtained with participants with no neurological disorders have shown that classifiers based on Hidden Markov Models provided similar or better performance than a classifier based on position threshold. However, motion segmentation and interpretation modules were sensitive to involuntary movements featured by participants with cerebral palsy that took part in the study.

Assistive Technologies at the Edge of Language and Speech Science for Children with Communication Disorders

2016 ◽  
pp. 996-1019
Author(s):  
Joséphine Anne Genèvieve Ancelle
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Language Disorders ◽  
Communication Disorders ◽  
The United States ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Text To Speech ◽  
Therapy Room ◽  
Speech Science

About two million individuals in the United States use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices with text-to-speech (TTS) synthesis to speak on their behalf. In this chapter, two specific systems are introduced and evaluated as potentially significant emerging tools for children with communication disorders. The VocalIDTM project was developed to provide unique voices for children who otherwise speak through standard adult voices. Free SpeechTM is an image-based system designed to address grammatical concepts perceived as abstract by children with language disorders. This chapter also reviews the latest developments in electropalatography (EPG): biofeedback technology, which enables the visualization of tongue to palate contact during speech production. SmartPalateTM has developed cutting-edge hardware and software technology to make EPG more intuitive and more accessible in the therapy room and at home.

Assistive Technologies at the Edge of Language and Speech Science for Children with Communication Disorders

2015 ◽  
pp. 255-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joséphine Anne Genèvieve Ancelle
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Language Disorders ◽  
Communication Disorders ◽  
The United States ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Text To Speech ◽  
Therapy Room ◽  
Speech Science

About two million individuals in the United States use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices with text-to-speech (TTS) synthesis to speak on their behalf. In this chapter, two specific systems are introduced and evaluated as potentially significant emerging tools for children with communication disorders. The VocalIDTM project was developed to provide unique voices for children who otherwise speak through standard adult voices. Free SpeechTM is an image-based system designed to address grammatical concepts perceived as abstract by children with language disorders. This chapter also reviews the latest developments in electropalatography (EPG): biofeedback technology, which enables the visualization of tongue to palate contact during speech production. SmartPalateTM has developed cutting-edge hardware and software technology to make EPG more intuitive and more accessible in the therapy room and at home.

Assistive Technologies, Digital Literacy and Didactic for Inclusion

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugenia Treglia ◽  
Angela Magnanini ◽  
Gianni Caione ◽  
Monica Alina Lungu
Keyword(s):  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Communication Processes ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Technical Solutions ◽  
Specific Disability

This article aims to investigate the relationship between technologies and disabilities in the field of special education. In particular, this article discusses the role of aiding technologies, such as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), in the learning and integration processes of people with disabilities, with a focus on autistic spectrum disorders. To facilitate the accessibility of tools and IT products, various types of aiding technologies are now available, namely a set of hardware and software technical solutions that provide working configurations suitable for the special needs of users, allowing them to overcome the disadvantage gap resulting from a specific disability. The AAC, as an aiding technology, in addition to fostering communication processes, allows the user with autism spectrum disorders to interface in a more functional way with the computer tool, and thus to implement its digital literacy and consequent learning possibilities.

Working with Asian American Families Whose Children Have Augmentative and Alternative Communication Needs

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 5-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phil Parette ◽  
Mary Blake Huer
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Family Involvement ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Communication Styles ◽  
Minority Population ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Related Services ◽  
Communication Needs ◽  
American Families

The increase in students with disabilities from Asian backgrounds who receive special education and related services places greater responsibility on professionals providing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) services to children and families. Numerous values that are deeply embedded in Asian American families may influence the success of family involvement in team decision-making processes as well as subsequent AAC interventions. Contrasting Euro-American and Asian values are examined with particular emphasis on differences exhibited by these families with regard to (a) perspectives on disability, health care, family life, and education/intervention; (b) communication styles; and (c) reactions to AAC. Specific suggestions are offered to practitioners who may be working with this growing minority population in contemporary society.

scholarly journals Interpretation of iconic utterances based on contents representation: Semantic analysis in the PVI system

1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-40
Author(s):  
PASCAL VAILLANT
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language Processing ◽  
Natural Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Language Disabilities ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
Conceptual Graph ◽  
Processing Techniques

This article focuses on the need for technological aid for agrammatics, and presents a system designed to meet this need. The field of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) explores ways to allow people with speech or language disabilities to communicate. The use of computers and natural language processing techniques offers a range of new possibilities in this direction. Yet AAC addresses speech deficits mainly, not linguistic disabilities. A model of aided AAC interfaces with a place for natural language processing is presented. The PVI system, described in this contribution, makes use of such advanced techniques. It has been developed at Thomson-CSF for the use of children with cerebral palsy. It presents a customizable interface helping the disabled to compose sequences of icons displayed on a computer screen. A semantic parser, using lexical semantics information, is used to determine the best case assignments for predicative icons in the sequence. It maximizes a global value, the ‘semantic harmony’ of the sequence. The resulting conceptual graph is fed to a natural language generation module which uses Tree Adjoining Grammars (TAG) to generate French sentences. Evaluation by users demonstrates the system's strengths and limitations, and shows the ways for future developments.

Assistive Technologies, Digital Literacy and Didactic for Inclusion

2022 ◽  
pp. 601-610
Author(s):  
Eugenia Treglia ◽  
Angela Magnanini ◽  
Gianni Caione ◽  
Monica Alina Lungu
Keyword(s):  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Communication Processes ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Technical Solutions ◽  
Specific Disability

This article aims to investigate the relationship between technologies and disabilities in the field of special education. In particular, this article discusses the role of aiding technologies, such as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), in the learning and integration processes of people with disabilities, with a focus on autistic spectrum disorders. To facilitate the accessibility of tools and IT products, various types of aiding technologies are now available, namely a set of hardware and software technical solutions that provide working configurations suitable for the special needs of users, allowing them to overcome the disadvantage gap resulting from a specific disability. The AAC, as an aiding technology, in addition to fostering communication processes, allows the user with autism spectrum disorders to interface in a more functional way with the computer tool, and thus to implement its digital literacy and consequent learning possibilities.

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