Repeated Reading, Turn Taking, and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)

Abstract

This single participant multiple baseline research design measured the effects of repeatedly reading narrative books to children who used voice output augmentative communication devices to communicate. The study sought to determine if there was a difference observed in the number of turns taken when reading stories repeatedly. Three girls ranging in age from seven to nine listened to a different illustrated narrative book during each baseline session. During the intervention phase, a single illustrated book was read repeatedly to each child for six sessions followed by an additional intervention of a second illustrated book for six more sessions. Two of the three participants took more turns during the repeated reading when comparing mean scores. Upon visual inspection it appears the increases were generally in the first couple of repeated readings and then a slope return was displayed toward the baseline level over the six repeated readings. Implications for practice are shared.

Keywords:

• augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)
• complex communication needs
• interactions
• pragmatics
• reading
• repeated reading
• storybook reading
• turn-taking

Acknowledgements

This article is based on a doctoral dissertation entitled “Repeated Reading and Augmentative and Alternative Communication” that was completed in 2006 for a PhD in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas under the direction of the second author, Jane Wegner. There was no research funding for this study, and no restrictions have been imposed on free access to, or publication of, the research data.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.