Comparison of the effects of mobile technology AAC apps on programming visual scene displays

Abstract

Parents and professionals who work with individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) face tremendous time pressures, especially when programming vocabulary in AAC technologies. System design (from programming functions to layout options) necessitates a range of skills related to operational competence and can impose intensive training demands for communication partners. In fact, some AAC applications impose considerable learning demands, which can lead to increased time to complete the same programming tasks. A within-subject design was used to investigate the comparative effects of three visual scene display AAC apps (GoTalk Now, AutisMate, EasyVSD) on the programming times for three off-line programming activities, by adults who were novices to programming AAC apps. The results indicated all participants were able to create scenes and add hotspots during off-line programming tasks with minimal self-guided training. The AAC app that had the least number of programming steps, EasyVSD, resulted in the fastest completion times across the three programming tasks. These results suggest that by simplifying the operational requirements of AAC apps the programming time is reduced, which may allow partners to better support individuals who use AAC.

Keywords:

• Applications (apps)
• augmentative and alternative communication
• visual scene displays
• complex communication needs
• mobile technology

Acknowledgments

Portions of this article were submitted by the first author in partial fulfillment of PhD requirements at The Pennsylvania State University Department of Communication Disorders.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding

This project was supported, in part, by funding from the: (a) Penn State AAC Leadership Project, a doctoral training grant funded by U.S. Department of Education [grant number H325D110008]; (b) Hintz Family Endowed Chair in Children?s Communicative Competence; (c) New Century Scholars Doctoral Scholarship through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation; and (d) National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) [grant number 90RE5017]; NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The content does not necessarily represent the policy of these funding agencies; readers should not assume endorsement by these agencies.

Notes

1 The current study was completed in 2014, thus the current programming steps may differ as updated versions are now available for the three apps used in the study.

2 GoTalk Now is an AAC application created by Attainment Company. www.attainmentcompany.com/gotalk-now

3 AutisMate is an AAC application created by Special NeedsWare. www.autismate.com/

4 EasyVSD is an AAC application created by InvoTek, Inc. www.invotek.org/

5 iPad Air is a product of by Apple Inc. Cupertino, CA. www.apple.com

6 Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is an Android tablet computer, developed by Samsung Electronics. www.samsung.com

7 The InterAACt software is a language framework used on Dynavox devices. www.dynavoxtech.com/tobii-dynavox/

8 Boardmaker^® with Speaking Dynamically Pro is a product of Mayer-Johnson Inc. www.mayer-johnson.com

9 YouTube is a website designed for video sharing. www.youtube.com