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R1-C: Specialized AAC Vocabulary Research

Goals

Individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and their families have new expectations for life after high school, including attending college, becoming employed, managing personal assistance services and transportation, and having intimate relations. However, the vocabulary needed to support these socially-valued adult roles may not be available in pre-programmed devices nor in commonly used visual symbol systems. This purpose of this research was to determine whether vocabulary needed to participate in 6 socially-valued adult roles (i.e., college life; sexuality, intimacy, and sex; reporting crime; managing personal assistance services; managing health care; and using transportation) currently existed in 3 widely used symbol sets.

 Progress to Date

In order to identify the needed vocabulary sets, 12 online focus groups were established of individuals who use AAC who also have experience in these roles and others who are “experts” in the particular field. Each of the focus groups was comprised of 6 - 8 individuals who use AAC and 6 to 8 experts. Once a comprehensive vocabulary list was generated, the study’s research team conducted a discrepancy analysis to determine whether those words could be represented by graphic symbols of symbol combinations of three commonly used symbol sets. This process was repeated for each of the 6 vocabulary sets.

Currently, the results of each of the 6 discrepancy analyses and the needed vocabulary have been transferred to Mayer-Johnson, Dynavox, and Prentke-Romich companies for possible inclusion in updates of Picture Communication Symbols (PCS), Dynasyms, and Unity 128.

A website has been developed that includes the following:

1. Downloadable vocabulary for each of the 7 adult valued social roles:

  • College
  • Sexuality, intimacy, and sex
  • Reporting crime
  • Managing personal assistant services
  • Communicating about health care
  • Managing transportation
  • Employment

2. Unity 128 icon sequences developed by Sarah Lever for each of the 7 socially valued adult roles

Next Steps

Website expansion to include for each of the 7 vocabulary sets including a downloadable Mayer-Johnson PCS symbols or a link to Mayer-Johnson’s website and a link to Dynasyms.

Given funding, additional vocabulary and symbol sets will be developed, transferred to manufacturers, and posted to the website.

Publications

Articles in Augmentative Communication News and postings to ACOLUG have been completed, including:

Reed, T (September 14, 2007), Specialized AAC Vocabulary Research, ACOLUG, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Schwarz, J. (2004). Specialized AAC vocabulary. RERC e-newsletter, 1 (1).

Bryen, D. N. (in press). AAC vocabulary for socially valued adult roles. Augmentative and Alternative Communication.

Presentations

Bryen, D.N., & Lever, S. (2008). AAC vocabulary for socially valued adult roles. ISAAC, August, Montreal, Canada.

Bryen, D.N. (2008). AAC vocabulary for socially valued adult roles. IASSID, August, Cape Town, South Africa.

Contact Information

For more information or to suggest additional vocabulary sets, contact Diane Nelson Bryen at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it