A proposed augmentative and alternative communication model

Augmentative and Alternative Communication in Logopedics

“…In 1981 a project initiated by the Swedish Institute for the Handicapped, and later joined by Canada and the USA, resulted in the formation of an International Project on Communication Aids for the Speech Handicapped (IPCAS) [4,5,48], while the Blissymbolics Communication Institute and the University of Toronto had co-sponsored the first International Conferences on Nonspeech Communication, held in Toronto/Canada in 1980 and 1982. Soon after, namely in May 1983, these burgeoning contacts led to the foundation of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) by a small group of individuals from only a handful of countries.…”

“…With professor Crystal's contrasting terms of remediation versus compensation in mind an inspection of the various chronicles dealing with AAC in logopedics [4,5,10] will reveal that most of them consider the field of AAC to have emerged in the late 1950s/early 1960s as a response to the need of individuals who, despite years of exposure to what has been called 'traditional speech therapy intervention' had not developed adequate oral communication skills. With practices such as vocal imitation, articulation drills, and tongue and breathing exercises failing, professionals were challenged to find innovative alternatives -in the beginning mainly like communication boards and charts with individuals with cerebral palsy, to be followed and supplemented by Morse code and eye-gaze techniques.…”

“…In 1981 an electronic communication device based on Blissymbols and synthetic speech was made in Sweden (where the number of Blissymbol users in 1983 was estimated to 1,000 persons). Most other countries did not get started until the 1980s, but are catching up, and today the use of Blissymbols has expanded from Canada to at least 33 other countries including Brazil, England, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, South Africa, Spain, Portugal and Zimbabwe [4,5,10] …”

“…In 1989 a permanent AAC committee was formed by ASHA [14], followed by a socalled 'Special Interest Division' (SID) in 1991; the latter (SID 12) is now the third largest of ASHA's SIDs [4]. (The possible omission of sins committed by my ignorance as to similar positions taken by other logopaedic associations is probably due to the strong North American influence in the field of AAC, which penetrates the associated journals and a majority of the textbooks available ...).…”

“…From an unobtrusive start in the 1950s and 1960s mainly carried by individually 'fiery souls' deviating from the conventional course of communication intervention and often guided by 'trial-and-error' [15][16][17][18], AAC since the beginning of the 1970s has evolved as a multidisciplinary enterprise with speech-language therapists working together with psychologists, linguists, computer scientists, special-education teachers, rehabilitation engineers, occupational and physical therapists, social workers and other professions, all borrowing modes and methods from each other [4]. Without drawing this anecdotal historical sketch too far (individuals interested in a more comprehensive account of AAC in a historic perspective are asked to check the list of references) a handful of trends like the following ones nevertheless deserve mentioning for their relative contribution to the AAC field: language development research, dissemination of sign language to other populations than the deaf, use of nonspeech graphic symbols, advances in computer technology and international collaboration.…”