The Potential Influence of Stimulus Overselectivity in AAC: Information from Eye Tracking and Behavioral Studies of Attention with Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

This paper examines the phenomenon of stimulus overselectivity, or overselective attention, as it may impact AAC training and use in individuals with intellectual disabilities. Stimulus overselectivity is defined as an atypical limitation in the number of stimuli or stimulus features within an image that are attended to and subsequently learned. Within AAC, the term stimulus could refer to symbols or line drawings on speech-generating devices, drawings or pictures on low-technology systems, and/or the elements within visual scene displays. In this context, overselective attention may result in unusual or uneven error patterns such as confusion between two symbols that share a single feature, or difficulties with transitioning between different types of hardware. We review some of the ways that overselective attention has been studied behaviorally. We then examine how eye tracking technology allows a glimpse into some of the behavioral characteristics of overselective attention. We describe an intervention approach, differential observing responses, that may reduce or eliminate overselectivity, and we consider this type of intervention as it relates to issues of relevance for AAC.

Keywords::

• AAC
• Overselectivity
• Intellectual disability
• Overselective attention
• Eye tracking

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Christophe Gerard for his comments.

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

Preparation of this paper was supported in part by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Grants R01HD062582, P01HD025995, and P30HD004147. The contents of this paper are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NICHD.