The effects of literacy interventions on single-word reading for individuals who use aided AAC: a systematic review

Abstract

The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate the effects of instruction on single-word reading of individuals who use aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). A systematic search identified nine single-case experimental design studies that involved 24 individuals who used aided AAC. Overall, the evidence indicated that instruction had positive effects on reading at the single-word level for individuals across ages and diagnostic categories (i.e., autism spectrum disorder (ASD), cerebral palsy (CP), Down syndrome, and intellectual disability). The studies revealed that these effects were consistent across a range of participant, intervention, and outcome measure characteristics. Phonological approaches, sight-word approaches, and a combination of these two approaches yielded very large effects. Despite the large effects, the findings must be viewed with caution due to limitations in the number of studies and participants and limitations in the reporting of detailed participant and intervention characteristics across the studies. In order to determine which interventions are most effective for which individuals, future research directions are discussed, including the need for greater specificity in describing participant and intervention characteristics, investigations into how to best measure intervention outcomes without requiring spoken responses, and investigations into longer-term interventions targeting a wider range of reading skills.

State of the Evidence Traffic Lights 2019: Systematic Review of Interventions for Preventing and Treating Children with Cerebral Palsy

“…In the cerebral palsy field, there is a shift towards actively recommending and testing these cognitive interventions with children with cerebral palsy. Our review found newer evidence of literacy interventions tailored for children with cerebral palsy using communication devices were effective (green light) [117,118]. Infants that received GAME intervention (a combination of motor training, environmental enrichment, and coaching) had better cognition at 1 year of age than age-matched peers on a norm-referenced test (yellow light, weak positive) [83,84].…”

Training needs analysis of nurses caring for individuals an intellectual disability and or autism spectrum disorder in a forensic service

“…Being able to read and write enables individuals to access and process information, to communicate and to make informed choices. AAC technology has been used to not only support people overcoming this barrier but also to assist the individuals to develop literacy skills (Allena et al, 2017;Mandak et al, 2018).…”

Telling tales: unlocking the potential of AAC technologies

“…It has been reported that up to 90% of individuals with congenital CCN struggle to acquire functional literacy (Foley and Wolter 2010), despite an acknowledgement that literacy acquisition is of critical importance for people with CCN (Mandak et al 2018). In addition, people with acquired cognitive impairments, e.g., aphasia resulting from a stroke (cerebral vascular accident), also experience varying degrees of difficulty with both expressive and receptive written language.…”

“…The importance of introducing literacy programmes for all children with CCN, regardless of assumed intellectual impairment, has been championed by many practitioners (Smith 2005, Mandak et al 2018. Despite evidence that speech output supports literacy learning (Schlosser 2003), AAC technology has yet to be designed to: (1) support ways in which pre/non-literate users can access vocabulary not in their systems; and (2) bridge the transition between symbol based AAC and literacy in a progressive manner without having to change systems.…”