Prompting for repair as a language teaching strategy for augmentative and alternative communication

Abstract

Conversational repair has been found to play a fundamental role in the acquisition of language.This paper describes existing research on conversational repair and its relationship to language learning, whether a first language or a second language, as well as its relevance to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). A case is made for incorporating prompts to repair in conversation-based language interventions with children learning to use AAC. We argue that interventions targeting linguistic complexity should encourage self-repair in conversation in order to develop linguistic and operational competency as well as increase automaticity when using AAC. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Response Time of Young Children With Complex Communication Needs Following a Communication Opportunity

“…Additionally, we caution against using a standard wait time length for all children. We expect individual differences exist, especially for children with motor delays (Cooper et al, 2021). Indeed, even within our sample, children differed in the pattern of response time, with the median response time for three children substantially shorter than for the other two children.…”

“…First, participants in our study included only five child-paraeducator dyads representing children with ASD and DiGeorge syndrome. Future studies should further explore child communication patterns for children with other disabilities (e.g., Down syndrome, cerebral palsy), especially those with motor challenges (Cooper et al, 2021), as well as with other partners (e.g., parents, peers). Future studies should also include larger sample sizes to consider if patterns differ across diagnoses and communication partners.…”

“…Thus, it takes time to navigate from page to page to identify relevant vocabulary, which requires high attention demands for children as they navigate an array of various symbols (Thistle & Wilkinson, 2017). This is especially true for individuals beginning to use AAC who have limited understanding on how to operate their AAC system (Beck et al, 2002) and lack motor planning to automate some navigation demands (Cooper et al, 2021; Thistle & Wilkinson, 2015). In addition, many children with CCN have physical difficulties, for which physical movement to select symbols on AAC systems takes more time, concentration, and coordination (Lund & Light, 2006).…”