King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Augment Altern Commun. 2020 Sep;36(3):155-165. doi: 10.1080/07434618.2020.1813196. Epub 2020 Oct 5.
A considerable number of studies have demonstrated that augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is effective in increasing speech production in some children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Thus, this study aimed to (a) investigate the effects of a Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) Phase IV protocol on the acquisition of spontaneous augmented requests, (b) evaluate the impact of progressive time delay and synthetic speech output on the development of vocal requests, and (c) determine the participants' preferences for each modality after reaching mastery. A multiple-baseline design across four children with ASD was used to measure the acquisition of augmented and vocal requests during the transition from low-tech to high-tech AAC systems. During a natural condition (i.e., playtime), a modified PECS Phase IV protocol was applied to teach the participants to request by producing multisymbol messages (e.g., + names of a preferred item) using an iPad as well as vocalizations. After mastery, the participants' preference for using the modified PECS Phase IV app or the communication book was assessed by comparing the response allocations. The preliminary results suggest that the modified PECS protocol can be used to transition from a low- to high-tech communication modality.
大量研究表明，辅助沟通（AAC）在增加一些自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童的言语产生方面是有效的。因此，本研究旨在：（a）研究图片交换沟通系统（PECS）第四阶段方案对自发增强请求习得的影响，（b）评估逐步时间延迟和合成语音输出对发声请求发展的影响，以及（c）在达到掌握后确定参与者对每种模式的偏好。采用四个 ASD 儿童的跨多个基线设计来衡量从低技术到高技术 AAC 系统过渡期间增强和发声请求的习得。在自然条件（即游戏时间）下，应用改良的 PECS 第四阶段方案，使用 iPad 以及发声来教导参与者通过产生多符号消息（例如，+ 首选项目的名称）来请求。掌握后，通过比较响应分配来评估参与者对使用改良的 PECS 第四阶段应用程序或沟通手册的偏好。初步结果表明，改良的 PECS 方案可用于从低技术到高技术沟通模式的过渡。
