Yum Yen Na, So Soby Ka Wing, Chan Rosanna Yuen-Yan
Department of Special Education and Counselling, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
SAHK, Hong Kong, China.
Front Psychol. 2021 Aug 18;12:686657. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.686657. eCollection 2021.
Previous studies have shown that graphic-based augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) output tend to be short and simple in structure with non-canonical word order, and that AAC users may show differences when communicating with peers compared to professionals such as speech therapists (STs). However, there was a lack of report for graphic-based AAC in the Chinese context, and the effect of communication partners had not been investigated systematically. In this study with 34 AAC users and 10 STs, we reported common and distinct features of free conversations in Cantonese graphic-based AAC, relative to AAC in other languages. We also found that AAC users were sensitive to different types of communication partners. In particular, when conversing with peers, AAC users produced long messages with equal proportion of questions and responses, which suggested active and bi-directional exchanges. In conversations with STs, AAC users showed high diversity in expressive vocabulary, indicating access to more semantic concepts. Results suggested that the base language and the communication partner are both influential factors that should be considered in studies of graphic-based AAC. The mobile AAC system facilitated free conversations in users with complex communication needs, affording an additional channel for social participation.
以往的研究表明，基于图形的辅助和替代沟通（AAC）输出往往结构简短、简单，词序不规范，而且与言语治疗师（STs）等专业人员相比，AAC使用者在与同龄人交流时可能会表现出差异。然而，在中国背景下，缺乏关于基于图形的AAC的报告，并且尚未系统地研究沟通伙伴的影响。在这项有34名AAC使用者和10名言语治疗师参与的研究中，我们报告了基于粤语图形的AAC自由对话相对于其他语言的AAC的共同和独特特征。我们还发现，AAC使用者对不同类型的沟通伙伴很敏感。特别是，在与同龄人交谈时，AAC使用者会发出较长的信息，问题和回答的比例相等，这表明交流是积极且双向的。在与言语治疗师的对话中，AAC使用者在表达性词汇方面表现出高度的多样性，这表明他们能够接触到更多的语义概念。结果表明，基础语言和沟通伙伴都是基于图形的AAC研究中应考虑的影响因素。移动AAC系统促进了有复杂沟通需求的用户的自由对话，为社会参与提供了额外的渠道。
