A call for innovative social media research in the field of augmentative and alternative communication

Abstract

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) social media research is relatively new, and is built on a foundation of research on use of the Internet and social media by people with communication disabilities. Although the field is expanding to include a range of people who use AAC, there are limitations and gaps in research that will need to be addressed in order to keep pace with the rapid evolution of social media connectivity in assistive communication technologies. In this paper, we consider the aims, scope, and methodologies of AAC social media research, with a focus on social network sites. Lack of detailed attention to specific social network sites and little use of social media data limits the extent to which findings can be confirmed. Increased use of social media data across a range of platforms, including Instagram and YouTube, would provide important insights into the lives of people who use AAC and the ways in which they and their supporters use social media. New directions for AAC social media research are presented in line with those discussed at the social media research symposium at the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication in Toronto, Canada, on August 12, 2016.

Keywords:

• Social media data
• social network sites
• augmentative and alternative communication
• AAC social media research
• innovation

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank and acknowledge members of the small discussion group at the social media research symposium of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication Research Symposium held in Toronto, Canada on August 12, 2016.

Notes

1 AssistiveWare B.V., Laurierstraat 193, 1016 PL, Amsterdam, Netherlands. www.assistiveware.com

2 Therapy Box Limited, 505 Pinner Road, North Harrow, Middlesex, HA2 6EH, UK. www.therapy-box.co.uk

3 Facebook HQ, 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, California, 94025, USA. www.facebook.com

4 Twitter Headquarters, 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, California, 94103, USA. www.twitter.com

5 Instagram HQ, 181 South Park Street, Suite 2, San Francisco, California, 94107, USA. www.instagram.com

6 WhatsApp. WhatsApp Inc. 650 Castro Street, Suite 120–219, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA. www.whatsapp.com

7 Second Life, Linden Lab Headquarters. 945 Battery Street, San Francisco, California, 94111, USA. https://secondlife.com/

8 Key Word Sign Australia, 830 Whitehorse Road, Box Hill, Victoria, 3128, Australia. www.scopeaust.or.au/key-word-sign-australia/

9 Vine Labs Inc., 51 East 12th Street, 10th Floor, New York, New York, 10003, USA. https://vine.co/

10 Pinterest Corporate Office, 808 Brannan Street, San Francisco, California, 94103, USA www.pinterest.com

11 MySpace LLC, 8391 Beverly Boulevard, Suite 349, Los Angeles, California, 90048, USA. https://myspace.com/

12 YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Avenue, San Bruno, California, 94066, USA. www.youtube.com

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by a Discovery Early Career Research Award to the first author from the Australian Research Council.