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

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Receptive and expressive language difficulties are some of the core challenges facing children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Emerging research suggests that for children with ASD receptive language is more impaired than expressive language. Specifically, abstract concepts like prepositions, are challenging for them. Aided augmented input has been shown to be an effective means of facilitating understanding in some children with ASD, however the amount of aided augmented input required to ensure effective understanding has not been determined. The aim of this study was to measure and compare the participants’ ability to follow instructions containing prepositions, under two conditions of aided augmented input. A with-in subject research design, involving 17 participants with ASD, was used to measure the accuracy of responses to instructions containing prepositions. Each participant was presented with 12 instructions. Half of the instructions were provided with 25% aided augmented input (prepositions only) referred to as Condition A, and the other half were presented with 75% aided augmented input (subject, preposition and location) referred to as Condition B. Their responses to the instructions were recorded and analyzed. Results suggest that there was no statistical difference between the two conditions of aided augmented input. Eight participants responded better under Condition A and five participants responded better under Condition B. Four participants responded equally under both conditions. The findings suggest that some participants may benefit from more aided augmented input and some from less aided augmented input. There is need for additional studies to determine the conditions of aided augmented input needed for the effective understanding of instructions containing prepositions and factors affecting the outcome. / Mini Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / MA / Unrestricted

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Most healthy young people can use a visual P300-based speller in a controlled laboratory setting1. Previous studies in people with severe disabilities have been limited to relatively small populations [2,3,4] or have been in populations with a variety of different disorders [5,6]. Here, we evaluate the performance of a larger population of people severely disabled by ALS. We sought to identify factors that affect performance and methods for improving performance. The study is part of a program that is providing the P300 speller for long-term independent home use.