Qualitative Analysis of Decision Making by Speech-Language Pathologists in the Design of Aided Visual Displays

Abstract

For children with complex communication needs, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices offer a functional way to communicate thoughts and feelings. Despite many significant advances in the field, effective and efficient aided communication can remain a challenge for some clients and their partners. One critical element of aided AAC intervention is systematic attention to the design of the communication display itself. A well-designed display will foster communication outcomes; a poorly designed one might have the opposite effect. Surprisingly, to our knowledge there are no studies of the strategies that clinicians actually employ when putting together a display. In this research note, we examine, on a case-by-case basis, the strategies six clinicians used when constructing display pages, as a means of highlighting potential areas that might warrant systematic research on display design.

Keywords:

• Decision making
• Augmentative and alternative communication
• Aided visual display

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank the six speech-language pathologists who participated in this study. Many thanks to Amit Bajaj, PhD., CCC-SLP for sharing his knowledge of qualitative research methods; and Jennifer Thistle for assisting in the data sorting process. This work was conducted while Dr Wilkinson and Ms McFadd were at Emerson College, and was part of the first author's Senior Honors Thesis at Emerson College. The first author received funding from the Emerson College Honors Program.

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

Note

1. Boardmaker is manufactured by Mayer-Johnson, a division of Dynavox Technologies, Pittsburgh, PA.