Bill Geluso, AAC-RERC Writers' Brigade
hgeluso@suffolk.lib.ny.us

The field of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) constantly challenges itself to conceive, develop and test techniques that will best assist people who rely on this technology. A prime example of this on-going exploration is a current research project aimed towards developing an AAC device to enhance communication efficiency for individuals with impaired speech.

Research into developing this device is being conducted through the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Communication Enhancement (AAC-RERC) and is funded by The National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).  The Principal Investigators on this project are David Beukelman  (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) and Kevin Caves (Duke University).  Elizabeth Hanson, Susan Fager and Laura Ball will work as co-investigators.  A cross-section of the AAC community serve as advisors: Tim French and Rick Roth, both of whom use AAC technology; Judy Roth, a parent; Mark Hakel, researcher; and Judy Harvey, an intervention specialist. Designing, developing and testing this device will take two to three years.

Dr. Beukelman's research targets individuals with speech disorders who use their residual speech as their primary means of communication.  Communicating with residual speech is usually more efficient when the listener is familiar with the speaker.  Aside from becoming accustomed to the affected speech pattern of the speaker, the familiar listener gets clues to what is being said by knowing the speaker's preferences and daily routines.  Knowing the topic of the conversation also aids the listener.  With this information the listener often needs to hear only the first few words of a message to correctly anticipate what the speaker is going to say.

At times, however, even the familiar listener has difficulty understanding an individual's impaired speech.  The speaker must then supplement his or her speech with additional information to be understood.  Presently, the speaker supplies this information by using low-technology AAC strategies.  Such strategies may include having the speaker point to the first letter of each word on a letter board as he or she communicates.

Although recent research documents the effectiveness of these low-tech strategies for supplementing residual speech, these methods place a significant burden on the listener.  To address this issue, the AAC-RERC research project is designing and developing a high-tech AAC device that allows users to supplement their speech with information that will be easy for the listener to see and process during a conversation.

The prototype device will feature two display screens, one facing the speaker, the other facing the listener.  These dual screens will permit communication partners to sit facing each other, promoting a natural verbal interchange.  The second screen will also allow the listener to easily monitor the message as it is being constructed or retrieved.  Thus, the listener would be able to comprehend the speaker as soon as enough information is displayed.  To assist the speaker in constructing a message as rapidly as possible, the device will feature traditional AAC strategies, such as word prediction, word and phrase encoding, letter-by-letter spelling, and icon selection.

Individuals with motor speech disorders will find this device useful when their dysarthric speech is not understood.  The device will also aid people with aphasia by enabling their communication partners to supply the speaker with elusive words.

Developing high-tech strategies to supplement speech is anticipated to be cost effective because mainstream computer technology and existing AAC software can be used.  Once Dr. Beukelman develops these strategies, manufacturers could incorporate them into some conventional AAC devices, or feature them on new devices.

Evaluation of the prototype device will proceed in three stages. First, AAC intervention specialists and AAC consumers will be given the opportunity to determine how well the device fulfills its objective.  Then, the communication performances of these consumers will be assessed while they use: 1. speech only, 2. speech supplemented through low-tech strategies and 3. speech supplemented through the new high-tech strategies.  Finally, the intervention specialists and the consumers will comment on their preferences for these three communication modes and on the efficiency of the new device.

For more information and updates on research to supplement residual speech, visit http://aac-rerc.com.