Conversational Topics Between a Child with Complex Communication Needs and her Caregiver at Mealtime

Abstract

Naturalistic mealtime interactions between a child with complex communication needs and her caregiver (focus dyad) and a child without disabilities and her caregiver (comparison dyad) were investigated. An activity-based communication analysis was used to outline the contextual background factors of the dyads' activities, and the dyads' conversational topics were analyzed. For the child and her caregiver (the focus dyad), the natural mode of communication at mealtime was unaided. Communication mostly concerned immediate mealtime issues. Other, shorter, topics were introduced but were also anchored to immediate issues. In contrast, the child and caregiver who comprised the comparison dyad conversed about a variety of personal topics that extended beyond the present. Topic patterns are exemplified using discourse excerpts and are discussed in relation to aided communication and development.

Interaction and Use of Speech-Generating Devices in the Homes of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders—An Analysis of Conversational Topics

“…These patterns were not observed for James and Ben. The results observed for James and Ben were more comparable to those of the child with cerebral palsy and complex communication needs in the study by Ferm et al (2004), in that their topics almost exclusively concerned the ongoing activity (see Tables 2 and 5). This is perhaps not particularly strange, since both James and Ben had very little speech.…”

Uso de expressões orais durante a implementação do recurso de comunicação suplementar e alternativa

“…As emissões não entendidas foram verificadas apenas nos procedimentos 3 e 12, tal fato a considerar que o aluno conseguiu se expressar verbalmente de maneira clara, tendo em vista que, os parceiros comunicativos conseguiram atribuir significado a quase todas manifestações verbais do aluno durante as diversas situações de interação (FERM; AHLSÉN; BJORCK-AKESSON, 2005).…”

Children with autistic spectrum disorders and speech‐generating devices: Communication in different activities at home

“…The goal in the activity of ''sharing experiences of the preschool day'' activity was communicative in nature and the children were able to use their SGDs to fulfil it. During mealtime, the main goal was that the children should eat, which of course is a very basic and important goal for parents and one that is not very easy to handle when it comes to children with disabilities (Ferm et al, 2004). Although none of the three children being observed during mealtime had difficulties in swallowing or chewing, all families had problems: James's parents in preparing his food fast enough, Ben's mother in understanding her son's frustration, and Andy's parents in getting him to sit down and eat.…”

“…Furthermore, most researchers in the field of pragmatics and communication intervention now agree that everyone's communicative behaviour varies a lot in different social activities (Allwood, 2000;Beukelman & Mirenda, 2005;Ninio & Snow, 1996). One framework aimed to study and describe this phenomenon is Activity Based Communication Analysis (ACA) (Allwood, 2000), which also has been adapted to and used in clinical research (Ahlsén, 1995;Ferm, 2006;Ferm, Ahlsén, & Bjö rck-Å kesson, 2004;Saldert, 2006). ACA builds on the ideas of Wittgenstein, in which context is claimed to play a major role in the production and understanding of meaning (Allwood, 2000).…”