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The ability to communicate is essential for the development of children's literacy skills, and raises a significant issue for children having complex communication needs who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems (e.g., communication boards, computerized voice-output systems) in order to substitute or supplement their natural speech. Current research indicates that early literacy experiences, such as interactive storybook reading with literate adults, are critical to children's development of functional language and literacy skills. However, research contends that children with complex communication needs are not naturally provided with supportive storybook reading experiences by their parents. In particular, one group of children who have been identified in the literature as being vulnerable to poor literacy outcomes is children of African American descent. To address this issue, the effects of an evidence-based instructional program on the communicative patterns of African American children using AAC during interactive book-reading activities were investigated. The study involved two parent-child dyads from African American backgrounds. The parents were taught to implement an interaction strategy that involved the use of (a) expectant delay, (b) modeling of AAC system use, (c) open-ended question asking, and (d) increased responsivity to the children's communicative attempts. Results demonstrated that the parents in both dyads reached criterion for implementation of the targeted interaction strategy, and they evidenced generalized and long-term use of this strategy. In addition, the children demonstrated increases in communicative turns taken and novel semantic concepts expressed. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

In recent years there has been dramatic growth in mobile devices and technologies. According to reports from comScore [1], 47% users in the United States (aged more than 13) are using a smartphones as their primary phone. Smartphone offers more advanced computing ability and connectivity than contemporary phones. In today’s world, a user wants to keep their smartphones private, because of the personal information present in it. Among these users, some of them are minors. This thesis addresses the functionality to track/control the mobile activities of minors by their parents using mobile phones. As a parent they want to know, whom his/her child is talking to and for what they are accessing browser for. Cellular network companies are providing number blocking services from the carrier side, but those are monthly paid services. In this thesis, we propose application architecture for remotely control the child phone and grant access to selected numbers for call and text. We use the emerging Android mobile platform and Google nexus phones to implement and test the application. This architecture will help developers to make more innovative applications in future which helps parent to access child phone information. We performed a study and reported the result using the proposal. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Aphasia is an acquired general impairment of the language processes resulting from brain damage that is frequently caused by cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs). Persons with aphasia have a history of retaining important communication competencies that have the potential for helping them succeed in using augmented communication systems. Using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems by adults with aphasia has been studied, but few studies have reported successfully using AAC systems in rehabilitating adults with aphasia. New advanced technologies including the availability of devices that talk, store a lot of information, and are relatively small can give AAC the potential to affect a greater change in functional communication skills for more persons with aphasia, particularly as experience with AAC rehabilitation grows. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether an adult with severe, nonfluent aphasia could communicate independently by adding a voice output communication aid (VOCA) to his natural communication repertoire. This study also sought to answer the following question: Does the addition of a VOCA to natural expression facilitate independent communication in an adult with severe, nonfluent aphasia? One subject was drawn from the out-patient members of a recreationoriented communication treatment group which is conducted at the Portland Veterans' Affairs Medical Center. The subject had been diagnosed with severe, nonfluent aphasia by a certified Speech/Language Pathologist. This study used a single-subject, component assessment research design to explore the relative effectiveness of components in an aphasia and AAC treatment package. It compared the relative effectiveness of Promoting Aphasics' Communicative Effectiveness (PACE) only treatment using natural communication strategies with that of PACE treatment for natural strategies plus a VOCA component. The subject's attempts to convey information were videotaped and analyzed using mean scores and a split-middle method of trend estimation to determine whether performance differences existed under two treatment conditions. The data for the number of conversational turns show an increase in the number of conversational turns which confirms an overall decrease in efficiency of communication for a severely aphasic person in this structured task in the augmented condition. Second, although the data for the number of communication breakdowns, the number of repair turns, and the repair turns as a percentage of total turns show a decline which would confirm an overall increase in effectiveness, this study does not conclusively demonstrate that the use of a VOCA enhances communication in this setting for this person compared to PACE only treatment. Lastly, the data for the number of messages conveyed correctly show little change which confirms by the measure used in this study, no difference in accuracy of communication for this activity in the augmented condition.

Thesis (M.S.)--Duquesne University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 92-99) and index.

<p>Literacy is an important part of communication. Phonological awareness, i.e. the ability to recognise the sound units of language and to manipulate them, has been found to be crucial in literacy acquisition.</p><p>In 2005 the development of a communication device, a talking joystick called the PhonicStick, started at The School of Computing at the University of Dundee in Scotland. The main focus with the project was to help children with physical disabilities to create spoken words by blending sounds together on the PhonicStick. It was also hypothesized that the PhonicStick could act as a support to literacy learning with typically developing children.</p><p>The aim of the present study was to investigate if a group of 10 typically developing South African 5-6 year old children could learn how to use the PhonicStick in three sessions and to see if their phonological awareness improved by using it. The training with the PhonicStick took place over a period of three weeks. The participants’ phonological awareness was screened before and after the sessions with two sub-tests of The Phonological Awareness Test (PHAT). In addition, their ability to produce sounds and words with the PhonicStick was tested.</p><p>The results showed that all the participants appeared to be interested in the PhonicStick and that they found it relatively easy to manoeuvre. The participants’ ability to produce sounds and words on the PhonicStick showed a statistically significant improvement from the first session to the third session. The participants’ phonological awareness skills did not appear to improve after three sessions. More time is needed to find out if this training would result in improved phonological awareness skills.</p>

Literacy is an important part of communication. Phonological awareness, i.e. the ability to recognise the sound units of language and to manipulate them, has been found to be crucial in literacy acquisition. In 2005 the development of a communication device, a talking joystick called the PhonicStick, started at The School of Computing at the University of Dundee in Scotland. The main focus with the project was to help children with physical disabilities to create spoken words by blending sounds together on the PhonicStick. It was also hypothesized that the PhonicStick could act as a support to literacy learning with typically developing children. The aim of the present study was to investigate if a group of 10 typically developing South African 5-6 year old children could learn how to use the PhonicStick in three sessions and to see if their phonological awareness improved by using it. The training with the PhonicStick took place over a period of three weeks. The participants’ phonological awareness was screened before and after the sessions with two sub-tests of The Phonological Awareness Test (PHAT). In addition, their ability to produce sounds and words with the PhonicStick was tested. The results showed that all the participants appeared to be interested in the PhonicStick and that they found it relatively easy to manoeuvre. The participants’ ability to produce sounds and words on the PhonicStick showed a statistically significant improvement from the first session to the third session. The participants’ phonological awareness skills did not appear to improve after three sessions. More time is needed to find out if this training would result in improved phonological awareness skills.

Thesis (M.S.L.T.)--University of Canterbury, 2009. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-84). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009. / Title from title screen (site viewed October 15, 2009). PDF text: vi, 113 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 1 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3366687. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.