Speaker Transfer in Children's Peer Conversation: Completing Communication-aid-mediated Contributions

Abstract

Managing the exchange of speakers from one person to another effectively is a key issue for participants in everyday conversational interaction. Speakers use a range of resources to indicate, in advance, when their turn will come to an end, and listeners attend to such signals in order to know when they might legitimately speak. Using the principles and findings from conversation analysis, this paper examines features of speaker transfer in a conversation between a boy with cerebral palsy who has been provided with a voice-output communication aid (VOCA), and a peer without physical or communication difficulties. Specifically, the analysis focuses on turn exchange, where a VOCA-mediated contribution approach completion, and the child without communication needs is due to speak next.

Keywords::

• Children
• Augmentative and alternative communication
• Communication aids
• Dysarthria
• Conversation analysis
• 
Peer interaction

Declaration of interest: The authors report no 
conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.