Effects of an AAC feature on decoding and encoding skills of adults with Down syndrome

Abstract

Literacy skills can assist in the navigation and enjoyment of adult life. For individuals who have reached adulthood without strong literacy skills, opportunities for continued literacy learning are few. Redesigning AAC technologies to support literacy skill development could extend literacy learning opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities who have limited speech. The current preliminary study evaluated an AAC technology feature designed to support literacy development. The study used a multiple probe across participants design. Three adults with Down syndrome who had limited speech and only basic decoding skills participated. Results suggest the participants made modest gains in decoding accuracy after interacting using the AAC app with the literacy supportive feature, though performance was highly variable. Results also offer emerging evidence that, for two participants, some generalization to encoding performance may have also been achieved. Results showed that, for all the participants, interacting using the literacy supportive feature increased their reading confidence. Altogether, the study’s results show preliminary evidence that the feature can support adults with Down syndrome in their ongoing literacy learning, though access to formal instruction is still critical. Future research is needed to continue to explore this and other AAC technology redesigns to increase learning opportunities for the people who use the technology every day to communicate.

Keywords:

• Augmentative and alternative communication
• Down syndrome
• literacy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Zoom is a video communication platform available from Zoom Video Communications, Inc. www. Zoom.us

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR Grant 90REGE0014); the second author received funding support from the U.S. Department of Education (Penn State AAC Doctoral Leadership Grant H325D170024).