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Abstract
The purpose of this scoping review was to (a) map the research evidence on the effectiveness of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interventions using speech output technologies (e.g., speech-generating devices, mobile technologies with AAC-specific applications, talking word processors) for individuals with autism spectrum disorders, (b) identify gaps in the existing literature, and (c) posit directions for future research. Outcomes related to speech, language, and communication were considered. A total of 48 studies (47 single case experimental designs and 1 randomized control trial) involving 187 individuals were included. Results were reviewed in terms of three study groupings: (a) studies that evaluated the effectiveness of treatment packages involving speech output, (b) studies comparing one treatment package with speech output to other AAC modalities, and (c) studies comparing the presence with the absence of speech output. The state of the evidence base is discussed and several directions for future research are posited.
Notes
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank graduate students Alanna Cummings, Northeastern University, and Kris Brock, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, for their assistance with library-related tasks.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflict of interests. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.
Notes
1. The iPad, iPad mini, iPod, iPod Touch, and the Apple II GS are registered trademarks of Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA 95014, USA.
2. Springboard Lite is a registered trademark of Prentke Romich Company, Wooster, Ohio, USA.
3. The Tango and TechTalk are registered trademarks of Dynavox Inc., Pittsburgh, PA 15203, USA.
4. TapSpeak is a registered trademark of TapSpeak LLC., Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
5. Pic a word is a registered trademark of Red Mountain Lab Inc., Birmingham, AL, USA.
6. CitationSigafoos, Didden, and O’Reilly (2003) also introduced an SGD to three children two of whom had a diagnosis of autism. Although, the SGD was introduced as part of a treatment package to teach requesting (consistent with the studies reviewed here), acquisition data are not reported because the primary interest of this study was to evaluate the effects of speech output as an independent variable on the maintenance of requesting (following the acquisition phase). Hence, this study will be addressed in the next section.
7. The MacMillan (2008) study included four children for whom only an age range was provided (8–12 years) – for the descriptive data on age we took the mean (i.e., 10 years) to enter an age for each of these participants.
8. Springboard Lite is a registered trademark of Prentke Romich Company, Wooster, Ohio, USA.
9. CheapTalk is a registered trademark of Enabling Devices, Hawthorne, New York, USA.
10. GoTalk is a registered trademark of Attainment Company, Verona, Wisconsin, USA.
11. TouchTalk is a registered trademark of Lingraphica, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
12. Vantage Lite and Vantage are registered trademarks of Prentke Romich Company, Wooster, Ohio, USA.
13. SpeakEasy, BigMACK, Jellybean switch, and BigRed are registered trademarks of AbleNet, Inc., Roseville, Minnesota, USA.
14. Mini Message Mate is a registered trademark of Words+ Inc., Lancaster, CA, USA.
15. Talara-32 is a registered trademark of Zygo-USA, Fremont, California, USA.
16. Proloquo2go is a registered trademark of AssistiveWare B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
17. Studies that used functional communication training provided information on both challenging behaviors and requesting, and therefore were counted for each of these dependent variables.
18. ProxTalker is a registered trademark of ProxTalker.com, LLC, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA.
19. Lightwriter is a registered trademark of Toby Churchill Ltd., Cambridge, England.
20. The Institute of Medicine considers the following as grey literature: trial registries, conference abstracts, books, dissertations, monographs, reports held by funding agencies and other government agencies, academics, business, and industry.