Designing effective AAC displays for individuals with developmental or acquired disabilities: State of the science and future research directions

Abstract

This paper reviews research on the impact of AAC display variables on visual attention and performance of children with developmental disabilities and adults with acquired conditions, and considers implications for designing effective visual scene displays (VSDs) or grids. When using VSDs with children with developmental disabilities or adults with acquired conditions, research supports the use of personalized photo VSDs that include familiar people engaged in meaningful activities, with navigation bars with thumbnail VSDs, located adjacent to the main VSD. Adults with acquired conditions seem to benefit from the inclusion of text boxes adjacent to the scene. Emerging evidence supports the use of motion to capture visual attention to VSDs (video VSDs) or to specific elements in VSDs. When using grid displays with children with developmental disabilities, research supports the use of spatial cues and clustering based on internal symbol color to facilitate visual searching and selection. Background color does not seem to facilitate searching for symbols on smaller displays and may actually distract children from processing the meaningful components of symbols. Preliminary research suggests that the organization of onscreen keyboards and the number, types, and pairings of symbols in grids may impact performance of adults with acquired conditions. Directions for future research are discussed.

Finding the best fit: examining the decision-making of augmentative and alternative communication professionals in the UK using a discrete choice experiment

“…Photos were still the most preferred aided communication mode unless a child vignette featured both predicted progress and motivation to communicate via AAC. This preference for photos possibly indicates that photos remain a good starting point for a child who is not engaged, regardless of prognosis, and may reflect recommendations that recognise the need to reduce the learning demands of AAC systems for some children 12 60…”

Photos for Visual Scene Displays: Input from Interviews with Visual Media Experts

“…For children scenes that depict familiar action routines allow for ready participation in routines and the emphasis is on quick capture of scenes to be used "in the moment" or "just in time (Wilkinson, et al, 2012). For adults, scenes can help support communication with familiar and unfamiliar partners based on significant life events and through photos with strong indicators of context and people involved (Light et al, 2019).…”

Designing Developmentally Sensitive AAC Technologies for Young Children with Complex Communication Needs: Considerations of Communication, Working Memory, Attention, Motor Skills, and Sensory-Perception

“…3. 59,60 The main VSDs contained two children engaged in a shared activity. Results demonstrated that individuals with DS and other developmental disabilities spent greater than 75% of their viewing time on the meaningful elements within the VSD (i.e., children and shared activity), and less than 25% of their viewing time on the background.…”

“…Participants spent the majority of their viewing time on the main VSD (M ¼ 61-67%) and less time on the navigation bar (M ¼ 30-33%). 59,60 Another consideration related to sensory perception is the use of motion. Motion may be used to draw attention to a stimulus or elicit the associated functional or behavioral characteristics of the stimulus (e.g., a shovel is used to dig).…”