Beliefs and habits: staff experiences with key word signing in special schools and group residential homes

Abstract

Even though use of aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) by staff has been extensively researched, few studies relate to unaided AAC strategies such as key word signing (KWS). We explored the KWS views of two groups: direct support staff in group residential homes and teachers from special education secondary schools. We examined transcripts from individual semi-structured interviews with five direct support staff and five teachers using thematic analysis. Participants discussed consistency of KWS use and reasons for implementing KWS. Compared to direct support staff, teachers described more use of KWS throughout the day with more individuals with intellectual disability. Teachers discussed use of KWS to facilitate students’ present and future interactions, while direct support staff primarily discussed immediate effects. Participants experienced KWS implementation as a learning process and aimed to turn the use of manual signs into a routine habit. This required considerable self-monitoring, and the effort that this continuous self-feedback required, combined with environmental factors, could hinder KWS implementation. These preliminary findings suggest that preservice KWS training and on-site KWS assistance may need to be enhanced.

Keywords:

• Key word signing
• implementation
• support staff
• schools
• adults

Acknowledgements

The first author conducted this interview study as part of her PhD project, which examines the relationship between staff characteristics and key word signing.

We would like to thank the teachers and direct support staff for their enthusiastic participation and extend our appreciation to research assistants Eline Van Opstal and Laura Vandenberk. We are grateful to the Foundation Marguerite-Marie Delacroix for financial support.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.