A Comunicação Alternativa (CA) é a área de conhecimento que pesquisa símbolos, recursos, técnicas e estratégias para desenvolver ou aprimorar a comunicação de pessoas com impossibilidade ou dificuldade de falar e/ou escrever. Tanto usuários como profissionais (terapeutas ocupacionais, fonoaudiólogos e professores) têm necessidade de organizar os recursos de CA no formato de pranchas de comunicação. A construção de pranchas de comunicação é uma atividade que envolve a seleção de elementos gráficos (símbolos gráficos, imagens, desenhos e fotografias), de acordo com as necessidades e objetivos das pessoas que se utilizarão deste recurso. A partir desse cenário, o objetivo desta tese é analisar como um sistema de busca semântica de imagens (pictogramas), capaz de mapear o contexto semântico de domínio específico, poderá aprimorar o SCALA e ampliar o conhecimento acerca de uma Tecnologia Assistiva de Comunicação Alternativa. A partir do objetivo, propôs-se o desenvolvimento de um sistema de busca (SCALAi*) capaz de mapear o contexto semântico de imagens de domínio específico, visando especificar a ontologia, e integra-la a um sistema de busca semântica de imagens, para a construção de pranchas de comunicação no sistema SCALA A metodologia de pesquisa foi de abordagem mixta: pesquisa qualitativa com engenharia de software com o método de Quase Experimento. A pesquisa de cunho tecnológico utilizou a metodologia de Design Centrado no Contexto de Uso para o desenvolvimento do SCALAi*. As oficinas de formação que alicerçaram o Quase Experimento foram realizadas em laboratórios de informática, com a participação de um público de participantes heterogêneo. Os dados foram coletados por meio de instrumentos de observação e protocolos de avaliação respondidos pelos participantes. Os resultados permitiram o desenvolvimento tecnológico do sistema denominado SCALAi* que permite a busca semântica em sistema de Comunicação Alternativa, a construção de uma ontologia de contextos de uso aplicável a sistema de CA, a comprovação da eficiência do sistema de busca nas interações e tempos de construção das pranchas de comunicação e a qualificação do processo de construção, seja em quantidade de pictograma seja em sua organização lógica. A inclusão do SCALAi* em sistema de Comunicação Alternativa se mostrou adequada e eficiente para os usuários, com muita ou nenhuma experiência, em atividades de construção de pranchas comunicação. / The Alternative Communication (AC) is the area of knowledge that researches symbols, resources, techniques and strategies to develop or improve the communication of people with impossibility or difficulty speaking and/or writing. Both users and professionals (occupational therapists, speech therapists and teachers) need to organize CA resources in the form of communication boards. The construction of communication boards is an activity that involves the selection of graphic elements (graphic symbols, images, drawings and photographs), according to the needs and objectives of the people who will use this resource. From this scenario, the aim of this thesis is to analyze how a semantic image search system (pictograms), capable of mapping the specific domain semantic context, can improve the SCALA and increase the knowledge about an Assistive Technology of Alternative Communication. From the objective, the development of a search system (SCALAi*) was proposed, capable of mapping the semantic context of specific domain images, aiming at specifying the ontology, and integrating it into a semantic image search system the construction of communication boards in the SCALA system. The research methodology was a mixed one: qualitative research with software engineering with the Quase Experiment method The research of a technological nature used the methodology of Design Centered in the Context of Use for the development of SCALAi*. The training workshops that founded the Quase Experiment were carried out in computer labs, with the participation of a heterogeneous audience of participants. The data were collected through observation instruments and evaluation protocols answered by the participants. The results allowed the technological development of the system called SCALAi* that allows the semantic search in Alternative Communication system, the construction of an ontology of contexts of use applicable to the CA system, the verification of the efficiency of the search system in the interactions and times of construction of communication boards and the qualification of the construction process, whether in quantity of pictogram or in its logical organization. The inclusion of SCALAi* in the Alternative Communication system proved to be adequate and efficient for users, with or without experience, in communication board construction activities.

No description available.

Background: Some children with ASD have comprehension difficulties that affect their ability to follow directives that contain prepositions. Aided input has been known to facilitate improved comprehension skills when spoken language is used with graphic symbols. Aims: This study examined the effects that aided input presented at two levels (20% of aided input and 60% of aided input) has on children with ASD’s following of directives that contain prepositions. Methods: An experimental, within-subjects crossover design was utilised where all participants were exposed to each treatment condition at a different time period. Altogether 21 participants between 5.0 and 11.11 years of age were asked to follow 12 directives using aided input at two conditions. Participants first completed a pre-test task to confirm their noun knowledge, preposition knowledge and matching skills. Participants were described based on the CARS classification and their PPVT-4 scores. The effects of the aided input were measured and compared based on the accuracy of responses. Results: Descriptive statistics were used to describe the data, and multivariate analysis was used to analyse the data. Some children with ASD (n=9) who received a higher level of aided input (60%) were able to respond more accurately than those who received a lower level of aided input (20%). However, some children with ASD (n=4) responded more accurately to the lower level of aided input (20%) than the higher level of aided input (60%). Some children with ASD (n=5) responded in the same manner for both levels of aided input and some children with ASD (n=3) did not respond at all despite the level of aided input. The results showed no statistically significant difference between the higher (60%) and lower (20%) levels of aided input. Conclusion: It was concluded that the 60% aided input level yielded a higher accuracy of responses than the 20% aided input level in some children with ASD. In addition, the results suggest that augmenting spoken language was advantageous in some children with ASD. However, further research is needed to better describe the effects of aided input, using graphic symbols. Future research directions are suggested. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / MA / Unrestricted

No description available.

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) provides many individuals who have little or no functional speech with a means to enter the world of communication. Aided and/or unaided symbols are used as a means of reception and expression to create shared meaning. The selection of an appropriate symbol set/system is vital and iconicity plays a central role in this process. The Western-based symbol set, Picture Communication Symbols (PCS) (Johnson, 1981), is readily available and widely used in South Africa, despite little information existing on its iconicity to South African populations with disabilities. This study aimed to determine the iconicity of Picture Communication Symbols (PCS) for children with English Additional Language (EAL) and intellectual disability. A quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive design was used. Thirty participants between the ages of 12;00 and 15;11 (years; months) with EAL and intellectual disability were required to identify 16 PCS presented thematically on a ‘bed-making’ communication overlay in response to a gloss read out by the researcher. The results indicated that, overall, the 16 PCS were relatively iconic to the participants. The results also indicated that the iconicity of PCS can be manipulated and enhanced and that it can be influenced by other PCS that are used simultaneously on the communication overlay. The reasons for these findings are described. The clinical and theoretical implications of this study’s results are discussed, followed by a critical evaluation of this study and, finally, recommendations for future research are suggested. / Dissertation (Master of Arts)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / unrestricted

The aim of this study was to determine the role of visual language input on PCS sentence construction. Thirty-nine participants were divided into two comparable groups and exposed to two inputs of presentations of PCS to investigate the impact of each input on the sentence construction of the participants. In the SVO input the sequence of buttons was in the normal English word order sequence (Subject-Verb-Object) and in the SOV input the word order was Subject-Object-Verb. Both input groups had to answer six questions by using PCS as well as speech. The findings indicated that the participants did not sequence their output to match the word order of the unfamiliar SOV input. The participants receiving the SOV condition used fewer PCS elements than the participants receiving the SVO condition. The participants receiving the SVO and SOV inputs gave similar spoken answers. Reasons for these findings are discussed, as are the implications for further research. / Dissertation (M (Augmentative and Alternative Communication))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / unrestricted

Receptive language skills form the foundation for later expressive use and therefore play an important role in language development. The role of receptive language skills in the field of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) has received limited attention as, historically, the function of AAC has been to enhance the expressive language skills of persons who rely on AAC. While this is an important role and the primary outcome of AAC intervention, the role of AAC intervention on receptive language skills is equally important. The ability of persons who rely on AAC to understand spoken language ranges from age equivalent comprehension to minimal comprehension. AAC interventions that improve comprehension include a variety of strategies, but a synthesis of the effects of these strategies has not occurred. The aim of this scoping review was, therefore, to map and synthesise the research evidence on the effects of AAC interventions on receptive language skills of children with developmental disabilities. A four-pronged search strategy was used to identify studies that met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-three studies were included in the scoping review. The studies were described in terms of number of publications, participant characteristics, research design, AAC interventions, intervention outcomes, intervention effects, and quality appraisal. Furthermore, the studies were described in terms of three groups of effects: (i) the effect of aided AAC interventions, (ii) the effect of unaided AAC interventions, and (iii) a comparison of two types of AAC interventions. The trends and gaps in the literature are highlighted in terms of the use of AAC interventions and the receptive language skills addressed. Directions for future research are posited. Valuable preliminary evidence regarding the effects of AAC interventions on receptive language skills of children with developmental disabilities was obtained in the scoping review. / Mini Dissertation (M(AAC))--University of Pretoria, 2017. / National Research Foundation (NRF) / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / M(AAC) / Unrestricted

Background: Augmented input (AI) refers to any visual or linguistic strategy used by communication partners to increase the message comprehension of a person with aphasia. Previous research has focused on the type of AI, such as high versus low context images and linguistic versus visual supports, that can be used to facilitate improved auditory and reading comprehension. The results of these studies have been varied. To date, researchers have not evaluated the frequency of AI required to improve auditory comprehension of persons with chronic aphasia. Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of AI using no context Picture Communication Symbols™ (PCS) images, presented at a frequency of 70%, versus no AI on the accuracy of auditory comprehension of narratives for persons with chronic aphasia. Methods and procedures: A total of 12 participants with chronic aphasia listened to two narratives, one in each of the conditions. Auditory comprehension was measured by assessing participants’ accuracy in responding to 15 multiple choice cloze-type statements related to the narratives. Results: Of the 12 participants, 7 participants (58.33%) gave more accurate responses to comprehension items in the AI condition, 4 participants (33.33%) gave more accurate responses in the no AI condition and 1 participant scored the same in both the conditions. Conclusion: No context Picture Communication Symbols™ (PCS) images used as AI improved the accuracy of responses to comprehension items based on narratives for some persons with chronic aphasia. Continued research is necessary in order to determine what forms and frequency of AI will lead to improved auditory comprehension for persons with aphasia. / Mini Dissertation (M(AAC))--University of Pretoria, 2017. / National Research Foundation (NRF) / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / M(AAC) / Unrestricted

A large portion of the world’s population is multilingual. This trend is reflected in the population with communication disorders, and therefore in people with complex communication needs (CCN). People with CCN may need alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) systems to facilitate their participation in daily life. These systems are often related to the language of the person’s community. Yet, if this person lives in a multilingual community, little current research is available to guide the design of AAC systems that give access to expression in more than one language. This pilot study aimed to determine the ability of typically developing Afrikaans-English bilingual children, between the ages of 4;6 (years;months) and 6;11, to label Picture Communication Symbols (PCS) in both these languages when taught with mono medium (English) versus dual medium (Afrikaans and English) teaching. Four participants, who spoke Afrikaans and English, were included in the study. A withinsubjects crossover design was used. Each participant was taught two sets of symbols, one using mono medium and one dual medium teaching. Treatments were counterbalanced for order and set. Results tentatively showed that the teaching method was successful, with participants being able to label most symbols in English when taught in either mono (English) or dual medium. Participants were also able to label symbols in Afrikaans when taught the symbols by dual medium teaching. Some participants were spontaneously able to translate symbols taught by mono medium teaching (English) to Afrikaans. This pilot study tentatively suggests that this ability is dependent on the child’s receptive vocabulary ability in both languages, as well as their ability to express the concepts depicted by the symbols in both L1 and L2. Future research is needed with studies that include a larger sample size, to be able to draw more robust conclusions. / Mini Dissertation (M(AAC))--University of Pretoria, 2017. / National Research Foundation (NRF) / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / M(AAC) / Unrestricted

No description available.