Browsing by Subject "yhteisrakennus"

Aim. People who cannot communicate by speech the way they want to, need augmentative and alternative communication systems, AAC. Aided communicators are often characterized as passive in interactions involving aided communication. However, conversations are always co-constructed, and all conversational partners impact on them with their own actions. The aim of this study was to identify and describe how conversations are co-constructed in these situations. Moreover, the aim was to describe which communication moves, pragmatic functions, and modes of communication were utilized across three different dyads. Method. The thesis used mixed methods research, where the phenomena were examined mainly with qualitative methods. In addition, quantitative methods were used for comparison between pairs. The participants of the study were 8-year-old Sara and her three conversation partners: a mother, a teacher, and a peer. Sara communicated with a communication book, and using gaze, gestures, and single words. The data was part of an international research project Becoming an aided communicator (BAC): Aided language skills in children aged 5–15 years – a multi-site and cross-cultural investigation. The data consisted of videoed and transcribed material from video event description tasks. Six video event descriptions from each Sara-conversation partner-dyad, 18 in total, were chosen for analyses. The data analysis followed the analysis method used by Pennington and McConachie (2001). The data were analyzed to identify how conversations are structured using structure of move, pragmatic functions, and mode of communication. Results and conclusions. The study showed that communicative moves and pragmatic functions were distributed similarly between different dyads. Sara’s communication partners differed in how they used the modes of communication with Sara. The teacher used the communication aids more than the peer or the mother. The study highlights Sara’s active role in all interactions. She contributed to the progress of the conversations with her own actions and initiatives. The study reinforces observations from previous studies concluding that aided conversations are often constructed by question-and-answer sequences. However, in part, it challenges previous studies indicating that the aided communicator would always have a passive role and the speaking partner would dominate interaction situations.