Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Availability

Open Access Thesis

Keywords

People with disabilities--Means of communication; People with disabilities--Rehabilitation; Teleconferencing;

Abstract

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) implementation and intervention continues to be a critical component of the speech-language pathology scope of practice (ASHA,2020a). As communication has be come increasingly technological, there is a growing need for individuals using AAC to participate remotely using their preferred method of AAC (DeRuyter et al., 2007). Research on use of low-tech AAC systems in telecommunication and the instruction of low-tech communication AAC methods via telepractice is limited. This paper focuses on participants’ experience with learning a modality of communication, low-tech AAC,over Zoom (Zoom Communications Video Communications Inc.,2020). Using a descriptive-comparative design to evaluate efficiency, three participants, who were non-users of AAC, learned , utilized, and reported preferences of low-tech methods of Eye-Transfer (E-Tran) or Partner-Assisted Scanning (PAS), in a 90-minute session. Participants used the methods in the role of the person using AAC first, and then as the communication partner. Method efficiency was evaluated by comparing duration of messages, spelling accuracy, and user preferences amongst participants. The results indicated E-Tran was faster than PAS for two participants who tried both methods. The two participants who tried both methods also had higher accuracy using PAS and preferred PAS over all in the telecommunication setting.

Year of Submission

2020

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

First Advisor

Evette Edmister, Chair

Date Original

2020

Object Description

1 PDF file (vi, 42 pages)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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