In speech and language intervention, the ability to interact is seldom evaluated; rather intervention is evaluated in terms of improved testresults.  If goal-setting in intervention also is based on everyday communicative needs, the relevance of the treatment may be increased and intervention outcome may be implemented in the patient’s natural environment. The present study, as part of a research-project, is based on analyses of interaction and interviews to examine everyday conversations and speech and language intervention. The aim was to explore if there is a relation between everyday communication needs and goal-setting in speech and language intervention for people with aphasia. A further aim was to investigate if there are everyday communicative needs that may form goals for speech and language intervention. Two individuals with aphasia and one individual with both dysarhtria and aphasia participated in the study. Three speech and language pathologists and two relatives also participated in the study. Everyday interaction and intervention sessions were recorded and transcribed according to Conversation Analysis principles and analysed from an interactional perspective. Interviews regarding intervention and everyday communication were carried out with all participants. Recordings were presented and discussed with all participants, in so called retrospections. Four phenomena that illustrate communication needs of the participating patients were identified: repair, alternative and augmentative communication, co-construction and feedback. Analysis, interviews and retrospections have revealed that communication needs can form the basis of goal-setting in speech and language intervention. It is also demonstrated that intervention mainly is based on the everyday communication needs of the patient. Retrospections were also shown to be useful in order to observe communication needs in everyday life and in order to evaluate speech and language intervention. The retrospections were found to be beneficial to an open dialogue between speech and language pathologist, patient and relatives regarding the content and aim of the intervention.

The aim of this thesis is to attempt to summarize what communication possibilities children suffering from a serious form of infantile cerebral palsy have, to describe them and possibly to clarify what exactly restricts these possibilities. The thesis also tries to answer the question in what way the communication of these individuals differs from the communication of intact persons. The core of the thesis resides in a theoretical exposition which deals - among others - with the communication process and its verbal and non-verbal parts, the diagnostic characterization of the infantile cerebral palsy and the impaired communication ability in symptomatic speech disorders which are associated with this disability. It describes how especially mobility impairment and mental retardation are reflected in the way and possibilities of communication. Special attention is paid to methods of alternative and augmentative communication which can be used as a therapy in the stimulation of the development of communication and speech skills, and which very often represent one of few possible ways of communicating for persons with this disability. The theoretical part is accompanied by video recordings showing communication of four girls suffering from infantile cerebral palsy. As manifestations of this diagnosis...

This diploma thesis deals with the issue of alternative and augmentative communication in the education of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and impaired communication skills. The theoretical part defines the concept of communication and speech, describes the development of communication in childhood and represents various categories of impaired communication skills. The next chapter defines the ASD, its classification and speeches. Furthermore, the theoretical part presents individual alternative and augmentative communication systems and focuses on their advantages and disadvantages in the education of children. The empirical part of the work is processed in the form of qualitative research, where the outputs are represented by case studies based on observations and interviews, which are focused on communication systems used by students with the ASD. The main goal is to focus on children with the ASD and their ability to use the alternative and augmentative communication systems in their development and education.

The aim of this master thesis is to analyse, design and implement a multi-platform mobile application for alternative and augmentative communication of people with special education needs and disabilities. This application based on iOS and Android platform allows making sentences composed of pictograms with voice output. The application is implemented in Java & HTML5 based multi-platform framework Oracle ADF Mobile. Application has been verified by case study in native environment of people with intellectual disability. The main contribution of this thesis is to include and verify the requirements of computer therapy (in sense computer as therapy), which aim to provide solution for proper design a usability of implementation for described target group of people.

Studiens syfte var att beskriva hur Alternativ och Kompletterande Kommunikation (AKK) används av lärare i den anpassade skolan för att främja elevers arbete med ämnesinnehåll, språkutveckling och kognition. Studien utgick från det sociokulturella perspektivet. En kvalitativ intervjustudie genomfördes och data analyserades i en tematisk analys. Urvalet bestod av åtta lärare i den anpassade skolan. Resultatet visade att lärare använder AKK i stor utsträckning för att möjliggöra arbete med ämnesinnehåll. Användandet av AKK gynnade elevernas språkutveckling och kognition, då lärarna möjliggjorde arbete i den proximala utvecklingszonen. Både empirisk och teoretisk generalisering låg till grund för arbetet med ämnesinnehåll, och vi fann exempel på lärare som arbetade liknade en learning activity. Lärarna önskade utveckla arbetet med att tolka elevernas deltagande i ämnesarbetet, samt att få mer stöd i form av färdigutvecklade lektionsstrukturer. Eleverna utmanades att fördjupa sitt kunnande vilket också kan gynna dem i ett samhällsperspektiv på lång sikt. Resultatet av studien kan användas av lärare i det didaktiska planeringsarbetet. / The aim of the study was to describe how Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) is used by teachers in special schools to promote students' work with subject content, language development and cognition. The study was based on the sociocultural perspective. A qualitative interview study was conducted and the data was analyzed in a thematic analysis. The sample consisted of eight teachers in special schools. The results showed that teachers use AAC to a large extent to enable work with subject content. The use of AAC benefited the students' language development and cognition, as the teachers enabled work in the zone of proximal development. Both empirical and theoretical generalization was the basis for the work with subject content, and we found examples of teachers whose work was similar to a learning activity. The teachers also wanted to develop the interpretation of the students' participation in the subject work, as well as to receive more support in the form of fully developed lesson structures. The students were challenged to deepen their knowledge, which can also have long term societal benefits for students. The results of the study can be used by teachers in didactic planning work.

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Syftet med denna studie är att beskriva lärare och klassassistenters erfarenheter av TAKK som kommunikativt stöd för elever i grundsärskolan. Data har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med tre lärare och två klassassistenter, som i sin profession praktiserade TAKK i interaktion med eleverna. Som teoretisk utgångspunkt för metodval och analysbearbetning har inspiration och begrepp från det sociokulturella, samt det kommunikativa relationsinriktade perspektivet (KoRP) inhämtats. Det sammantagna resultatet visar att lärarna och klassassistenterna beskrev TAKK som en kommunikativ, medierande resurs som gynnade elevernas kommunikation och interaktion med omgivningen, vilket av deltagarna ansågs vara grunden för kommunikativ och social delaktighet, samt grunden för elevernas lärande. Som artefakt ansågs TAKK övervägande innebära fördelar och möjligheter för elevernas kommunikation, delaktighet och lärande. TAKK praktiserades från och till under skoldagen, mestadels i formella kontexter i relation till lärare och klassassistenter. Spontant tecknande bland eleverna var inte vanligt förekommande. Lärare och klassassistenter hade tilltro till sin förmåga att kunna tillgodose elevernas kommunikativa behov och ansåg sig anpassa sitt tecknande utefter dessa. TAKK användes i verksamheterna tillsammans med andra alternativa AKK- redskap, vilka var under utvecklande i verksamheterna. Min förhoppning är att studien kommer bidra med större kunskap och ökad medvetenhet gällande TAKK i grundsärskolan. / The aim of this study is to describe teacher and class-assistents experiences of Keyword Signing (KWS) as communicative support for pupils in compulsory school for learning disabilities. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with three teachers and two class-assistents, who in their profession used KWS in interaction with the pupils. The theoretical framework is founded on inspiration and theoretical concepts from both the sociocultural perspective as well from the communicative relationshiporiented perspective. The total result from this study shows that teachers and class-assistents described KWS as a communicative mediated resource that favored the pupil’s communication and interaction with the surroundings, as from the participant´s point of view is elementary for communicative and social participation, and learning. Over all the interviewed considered that KWS as an artefact was contributing advantages and possibilities concerning the pupils communication, participation and learning. KWS was practiced on daily basis during the schooldays, mostly in formal contexts in relation to teachers and class-assistents. Spontaneous KWS was rarely used by the pupils. Teachers and class-assistents had confidence in their own ability to support the communicative needs of the pupils. KWS was practiced in the classrooms among other alternative of AAC-tools, which were developing in the classrooms. My hope is that this study will contribute cumulative knowledge and awareness about KWS in compulsory school for learning disabilities.

This diploma thesis deals with alternative and augmentative communication systems using at the individuals with pervasive development disorders. Thesis is divided the theoretical and the experimental part. Theoretical part contains mainly informations about communication disability, speech development, diagnosis of communication abilities, alternative and augmentative communication systems and possibilities of aid to the families with child with pervasive development disorder. Experimental part presents research using questionnaire, which was send to the parents or legal representatives with child with pervasive development disorder. The research prepares base for next extensive researchs.