School of Communication Science and Disorders, Florida State University, Tallahassee.
Department of Educational Psychology, University of North Texas, Denton.
Am J Speech Lang Pathol. 2024 Jan 3;33(1):16-32. doi: 10.1044/2023_AJSLP-23-00086. Epub 2023 Oct 27.
When emergencies or disasters arise, individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) are particularly vulnerable. It is critical that individuals who use AAC are supported to make decisions that impact their own lives and are able to communicate during such a crisis. Preparedness efforts that include a plan around communication needs and supports are necessary for ensuring that individuals who use AAC are able to understand options that ensure personal safety and express their needs during a time of crisis.
Qualitative methods were used to identify and describe the experiences of two young adults who use AAC and their caregivers when engaging in person-centered planning intervention sessions to complete the activities of the United States Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (USSAAC) emergency/disaster preparedness toolkit. Pre-intervention interviews and subjective, objective, assessment, and plan (SOAP) notes taken after each intervention session were done to describe their preparedness and experiences completing the toolkit. Themes were identified to describe participant experiences and change in their perceived preparedness.
Five themes and 18 subthemes emerged from the pre-intervention interviews and the SOAP notes across 14 intervention sessions that captured each participant and their caregiver's awareness of needs, barriers in emergency situations, challenges in completing the toolkit, and actions during person-centered planning with the toolkit (e.g., personalizing communication boards, making a go bag, and scheduling visits with local emergency agencies).
This study highlights the need for preparedness activities that are person-centered and account for the communication support needs of individuals who use AAC if faced with an emergency/disaster. Outcomes suggest that these methods were feasible and supported positive change in perceived preparedness in the young adults who used AAC and their caregivers.
当紧急情况或灾害发生时，使用增强和替代沟通（AAC）的个人尤其容易受到影响。至关重要的是，支持使用 AAC 的个人做出影响他们自己生活的决策，并能够在危机期间进行沟通。必须进行备灾工作，包括围绕沟通需求和支持制定计划，以确保使用 AAC 的个人能够理解确保人身安全的选项，并在危机期间表达他们的需求。
采用定性方法，确定并描述了两名使用 AAC 的年轻成年人及其照顾者在参与以人为中心的规划干预会议以完成美国增强和替代沟通协会（USSAAC）紧急/灾害备灾工具包的活动时的经历。在每次干预会议后进行预干预访谈和主观、客观、评估和计划（SOAP）记录，以描述他们的备灾情况和完成工具包的经验。确定了主题，以描述参与者的经历和对其备灾情况的感知变化。
在 14 次干预会议中，从预干预访谈和 SOAP 记录中出现了五个主题和 18 个子主题，这些主题描述了每个参与者及其照顾者对需求的认识、紧急情况下的障碍、完成工具包的挑战以及在使用工具包进行以人为中心的规划过程中的行动（例如，个性化沟通板、制作应急包和安排与当地应急机构的访问）。
这项研究强调了备灾活动需要以人为中心，并考虑到在紧急/灾害情况下使用 AAC 的个人的沟通支持需求。研究结果表明，这些方法是可行的，并支持了使用 AAC 的年轻成年人及其照顾者对备灾情况的感知变化。
