Browsing by Author "Närhinen, Anni"

The purpose of this study was to find out how the use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication, or AAC, affected daily situations in a Finnish kindergarten. The topic of my research is timely, since a major group of all children in kindergartens round Helsinki metropolitan area do not speak Finnish as their first language. Even though children with different native languages might benefit significantly of the use of AAC, there is a lot for all children to gain. Using AAC in kindergarten is helpful not only in bringing equality among children, but for instance in situations of transition and emotional intelligence. My bachelor’s thesis is a qualitative research with a phenomenological basis. I gathered my data using an internet enquiry. The link to the enquiry was sent to the kindergarten personnel (26) but only nine people answered. I analysed the data by analysis of content. The results were close to what I had expected. All of the participants felt the use of AAC had positively affected themselves and the children. I found five main groups in which I categorized the answers.