Using the iPad to facilitate interaction between preschool children who use AAC and their peers

Abstract

Social interaction is one of the key components of education, yet children with complex communication needs often face social isolation in the classroom, rarely interacting with same-age peers. This study investigated the impact of the provision of an iPad^®1 with an AAC app with visual scene displays and a dyadic turn taking training on the number of communicative turns taken by children with complex communication needs in interaction with same-age peers. Two preschool children with complex communication needs and six peers without disabilities participated in this research. A single-subject, multiple probe across partners design with one replication was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention on the frequency of communicative turns expressed by the children with complex communication needs. Parents, teachers, speech-language pathologists, and the children participated in social validation measures. As a result of intervention, Participant 1 showed immediate gains in the frequency of symbolic communicative turns after the first training session across all three partners (average gains of 30–46 symbolic communicative turns per 10-min session across peer partners). Participant 2 showed some initial gains, but they were not maintained over time (average gains of 11–24 turns across partners). Classroom implications and future research directions are discussed.

Keywords:

• Peer interaction
• social interaction
• disability
• augmentative and alternative communication
• mobile technology
• intervention

Acknowledgements

This research is based on a comprehensive project completed by the first author, under the direction of the second author, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication Sciences and Disorders, Pennsylvania State University. This project was supported by funding from the Penn State AAC Leadership Project, a doctoral training grant funded by U.S. Department of Education grant H325D110008. Funding support for the AAC doctoral program at Penn State is also provided through the Hintz Family Endowed Chair in Children’s Communicative Competence.

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1 The iPad is a registered trademark of Apple Inc., 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA, 95014, USA.

2 The Accent 1000 and LAMP Words for Life are trademarks of the Prentke Romich Company (PRC), 1022 Heyl Road Wooster, OH 44691, USA.

3 22q11.2 deletion syndrome is among the most common genetic syndromes and is among the most clinically variable syndromes. Typical speech and language concerns include a severe articulation impairment, language impairment, velopharyngeal insufficiency, high-pitched voice, and hoarseness. Challenges with cognition are also common, including learning disabilities, difficulties with abstract concepts, and ADHD (Robin & Shprintzen, 2005).

4 Tobii Dynavox Compass app is a copyright of Tobii Dynavox LLC, 2100 Wharton Street Suite 400, Pittsburgh, PA 15203, USA.