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Prediction and selection of vocabulary for two leisure activities

journal contribution
posted on 2007-01-01, 00:00 authored by L Dark, Susan BalandinSusan Balandin
People who use augmentative or alternative communication (AAC) need access to a relevant, socially valid vocabulary if they are to communicate successfully in a variety of contexts. Many people with complex communication needs who utilize some form of high technology or low technology AAC rely on others to predict and select vocabulary for them. In this study the ability of one speech pathologist, nine leisure support workers, and six people with cerebral palsy to accurately predict context-specific vocabulary was explored. Participants predicted vocabulary for two leisure activities - sailing session and Internet café - using the blank page method of vocabulary selection to identify the vocabulary items they considered important for each activity. This predicted vocabulary was then compared with the actual vocabulary used in each of the activities. A total of 187 (68%) of the words predicted for the sailing session were used during recorded conversations, with 88 words (32%) not appearing in the recorded samples. During the visit to the Internet café only 104 (47%) of the words predicted occurred in the recorded samples, with 117 words (53%) not occurring at all. These results support the need to socially validate any vocabulary in order to ensure that it is relevant and useful for the person using the AAC system.

History

Journal

Augmentative and alternative communication

Volume

23

Issue

4

Pagination

288 - 299

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Location

Abingdon, Eng.

ISSN

0743-4618

eISSN

1477-3848

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2007, International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication

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