Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel; School of Behavioral Sciences, The Academic College of Tel Aviv Jaffo, Tel Aviv Jaffo, Israel.
Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel.
Eur J Paediatr Neurol. 2018 Jan;22(1):39-45. doi: 10.1016/j.ejpn.2017.09.010. Epub 2017 Oct 10.
While many individuals with severe developmental impairments learn to communicate with augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices, a significant number of individuals show major difficulties in the effective use of AAC. Recent technological innovations, i.e., eye-tracking technology (ETT), aim to improve the transparency of communication and may also enable a more valid cognitive assessment.
To investigate whether ETT in forced-choice tasks can enable children with very severe motor and speech impairments to respond consistently, allowing a more reliable evaluation of their language comprehension.
Participants were 17 girls with Rett syndrome (M = 6:06 years). Their ability to respond by eye gaze was first practiced with computer games using ETT. Afterwards, their receptive vocabulary was assessed using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4 (PPVT-4). Target words were orally presented and participants responded by focusing their eyes on the preferred picture.
Remarkable differences between the participants in receptive vocabulary were demonstrated using ETT. The verbal comprehension abilities of 32% of the participants ranged from low-average to mild cognitive impairment, and the other 68% of the participants showed moderate to severe impairment. Young age at the time of assessment was positively correlated with higher receptive vocabulary.
The use of ETT seems to make the communicational signals of children with severe motor and communication impairments more easily understood. Early practice of ETT may improve the quality of communication and enable more reliable conclusions in learning and assessment sessions.
虽然许多严重发育障碍的个体都学会了使用辅助沟通（AAC）设备进行交流，但仍有相当数量的个体在有效使用 AAC 方面存在重大困难。最近的技术创新，即眼动跟踪技术（ETT），旨在提高沟通的透明度，并且还可以实现更有效的认知评估。
研究在强制选择任务中使用 ETT 是否可以使患有严重运动和言语障碍的儿童能够做出一致的反应，从而更可靠地评估他们的语言理解能力。
参与者为 17 名患有雷特综合征的女孩（M=6:06 岁）。首先使用 ETT 通过电脑游戏练习他们的眼球追踪能力。然后，使用 Peabody 图片词汇测验-4（PPVT-4）评估他们的接受性词汇量。目标单词通过口头呈现，参与者通过注视首选图片来做出反应。
使用 ETT 显示了参与者在接受性词汇量方面的显著差异。32%的参与者的言语理解能力处于低平均水平到轻度认知障碍之间，而另外 68%的参与者表现出中度到重度障碍。评估时的年龄较小与较高的接受性词汇量呈正相关。
使用 ETT 似乎使严重运动和沟通障碍儿童的沟通信号更容易理解。早期进行 ETT 练习可能会改善沟通质量，并在学习和评估过程中得出更可靠的结论。
