Browsing by Subject "AAC"

The purpose of this study is to describe and investigate the use of AAC methods in school-age children and adolescents, and to examine the use of AAC particularly in terms of interaction, social inclusion and peer relationships. Earlier studies have shown many challenges in communication and interaction environments with children using AAC, so this study is made to find out whether the challenges are present in this material also, and whether there are also positive observations in terms of interaction or relationships. I am also interested in searching for what needs to be developed, especially with the school system. Research question is as follows: How does the interactions and peer relationships of children using AAC appear in the research material? The research material was examined using an integrative literature review and a qualitative content analysis method. The research material consists of five peer-reviewed scientific articles from different countries, published in 2012-2017. The articles discuss the social skills, interaction, communication challenges and peer relationships of school-aged children (aged 6-16) using AAC. The results of the research were divided into five themes. The themes are as follow: 1: the number of interaction experiences, 2: the structural factors, 3: the availability of the AAC method, 4: the significance of the interaction partner, and 5: the desire to participate. The main results under each theme are as follows:1: lack of common time, weaker social skills, 2: non-accessibility, timetable problems, lack of co-operation, 3: AAC not available, AAC bans; 4: must know how to use AAC, preferring adults, lack of friends, and 5: little interaction initiatives, and failures affecting motivation.

Aims. The aim of this descriptive review was to examine the challenges parents of children who need augmentative and alternative communication have experienced in the rehabilitation process. Augmentative and alternative communication can support the communicative skills of individuals with moderate and severe disabilities. Even though the parents’ role in the rehabilitation process is very crucial and has been emphasized during the past decades, relatively few studies has examined this in the AAC rehabilitation which is why further research is much needed. Methods. A systematic search was conducted in four scientific databases. Six studies where parents’ experiences were researched via interviews and questionnaires were chosen to be examined in this study. Results and conclusions. Parents experienced various challenges in the AAC rehabilitation process. These challenges were experienced in different aspects of the process: from device selection to expanding the skills of the individual to different situations. Acknowledgement of the challenges is an important part of planning and enhancing effective rehabilitation.