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Challenges and Opportunities in Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Technologies: Design Considerations for Adults with Severe Disabilities

Authors:

Filip Bircanin,

Bernd Ploderer,

Laurianne Sitbon,

Andrew A. Bayor,

Margot BreretonAuthors Info & Claims

OzCHI '19: Proceedings of the 31st Australian Conference on Human-Computer-Interaction

Pages 184 - 196

https://doi.org/10.1145/3369457.3369473

Published: 10 January 2020 Publication History

Abstract

There is a growing body of research that demonstrates the value of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technologies for children and adults with complex communication needs. Despite these advancements, we have found that adults with severe intellectual disabilities and their families still face many challenges when learning about and using traditional AAC technologies. The majority of adult individuals with severe disabilities in our study have prior experiences with using various AAC devices, yet a high rate of abandonment is noted. Under such circumstances and in order to support more effective design and increased use of AAC, it is important to look beyond the interaction with dedicated AAC devices, and gain a better understanding of AAC use, practices and care support. In a six-month study that comprised participating in speech therapy sessions and working together with families, support workers and adults with severe disabilities, we lay out the foundations for a design framework that needs to consider a) current AAC cultural status b) modelling of AAC use c) creation of AAC user-friendly environments and d) personalization of AAC dedicated devices and the potential for AAC tangible (mid-tech) alternatives. We conclude with implications for design.

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Cited By

Curtis HJenkins AIbrahim SNeate T(2024)Looking Past Screens: Exploring Mixed Reality and Discreet AAC DevicesProceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility10.1145/3663548.3675655(1-22)Online publication date: 27-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3663548.3675655
Singh SWilson C(2024)Autistic Expression Beyond the Verbal - Studying Minimally-Verbal Autistic Indian Children's Embodied Interactions with Screen-Based TechnologyProceedings of the 23rd Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference10.1145/3628516.3655792(612-624)Online publication date: 17-Jun-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3628516.3655792
Curtis HLau YNeate T(2024)Breaking Badge: Augmenting Communication with Wearable AAC Smartbadges and DisplaysProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642327(1-25)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3642327
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Index Terms

Challenges and Opportunities in Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Technologies: Design Considerations for Adults with Severe Disabilities
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. Empirical studies in HCI
2. Social and professional topics
  1. Professional topics
    1. Computing profession
      1. Assistive technologies

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OzCHI '19: Proceedings of the 31st Australian Conference on Human-Computer-Interaction

December 2019

631 pages

ISBN:9781450376969

DOI:10.1145/3369457

Copyright © 2019 ACM.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than the author(s) must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected].

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HFESA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of Australia Inc.

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

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Published: 10 January 2020

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OZCHI'19

OZCHI'19: 31ST AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE ON HUMAN-COMPUTER-INTERACTION

December 2 - 5, 2019

WA, Fremantle, Australia

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Cited By

Curtis HJenkins AIbrahim SNeate T(2024)Looking Past Screens: Exploring Mixed Reality and Discreet AAC DevicesProceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility10.1145/3663548.3675655(1-22)Online publication date: 27-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3663548.3675655
Singh SWilson C(2024)Autistic Expression Beyond the Verbal - Studying Minimally-Verbal Autistic Indian Children's Embodied Interactions with Screen-Based TechnologyProceedings of the 23rd Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference10.1145/3628516.3655792(612-624)Online publication date: 17-Jun-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3628516.3655792
Curtis HLau YNeate T(2024)Breaking Badge: Augmenting Communication with Wearable AAC Smartbadges and DisplaysProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642327(1-25)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3642327
Curtis HNeate T(2024)Beyond Repairing with Electronic Speech: Towards Embodied Communication and Assistive TechnologyProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642274(1-12)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3642274
Joginder Singh SMakhtar UHassan FFoong JSokmum SAli A(2024)Augmentative and alternative communication: the experience of Malaysian speech-language pathologists and caregivers of individuals with aphasiaAphasiology10.1080/02687038.2024.2326463(1-23)Online publication date: 7-Mar-2024
https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2024.2326463
Kim JSoto G(2024)A Comprehensive Scoping Review of Caregivers' Experiences With Augmentative and Alternative Communication and Their Collaboration With School ProfessionalsLanguage, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools10.1044/2024_LSHSS-23-00117(1-21)Online publication date: 7-Feb-2024
https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_LSHSS-23-00117
de Faria Borges LBertholdo AFilgueiras LMaciel CPereira Vdos Santos Nunes E(2024)Motivation of persons with cerebral palsy through participatory design: where there is a will, there is a wayUniversal Access in the Information Society10.1007/s10209-024-01131-0Online publication date: 22-Jun-2024
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-024-01131-0
Sánchez-Álvarez JJaramillo-Álvarez GJiménez-Builes J(2023)Facilitating Communication in Neuromuscular Diseases: An Adaptive Approach with Fuzzy Logic and Machine Learning in Augmentative and Alternative Communication SystemsComputers10.3390/computers1301001013:1(10)Online publication date: 26-Dec-2023
https://doi.org/10.3390/computers13010010
Sitbon LBalasuriya SPercy L(2023)Guiding non-verbal conversation about meal choices with intelligent technologiesProceedings of the 35th Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference10.1145/3638380.3638443(350-359)Online publication date: 2-Dec-2023
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Zolyomi ASnyder J(2023)Designing for Common Ground: Visually Representing Conversation Dynamics of Neurodiverse DyadsProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36100577:CSCW2(1-33)Online publication date: 4-Oct-2023
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