What Is an Augmentative Communication Device System?
Basically, augmentative communication devices are ways for people with communication disabilities to voice their needs and wants with others. They can be temporary or permanent, depending on the needs of the individual. They run the range of simple, inexpensive and low-tech to extremely expensive and high-tech. Before choosing a communication device, a speech therapist should perform an initial evaluation. A team consisting of the speech therapist, the classroom teacher, other therapists such as occupational therapy and the parents should discuss the individual's needs and options available in order to implement the device best suited to the student's needs.
-
Pic Syms
-
Pic Syms, short for picture symbols, are simple, low-tech pictures that can be customized for individual activities such as opening circle time or to make choices at lunch or center time. The Mayer-Johnson Co. makes an extensive set of symbols that are the standard among special-needs teachers. Symbols come in big books for copying, cutting and pasting or prearranged in spiral-bound books with songs, books and activities such as cooking or bubble blowing. Boardmaker is the software that allows teachers and speech therapists to make custom pic sym boards without all the cutting and pasting. The student uses the pictures to make requests and answer questions by pointing.
Low Tech Devices
-
These low-tech devices have limited choices to enable very young or severely disabled students to make one or two choices. Big Mack and Little Mack are one-touch buttons that allow the students to make a choice or press for yes. Another device, the SmartTalker, starts out with one or two choices and can be fitted with overlays and pictures that can change with the child as their communication needs grow. It can accommodate up to eight choices. It also has limited capability for recording messages to be played back when the appropriate button is tapped.
-
Mid Tech
-
The AplhaTalker 2 is a mid-tech device. The overlays can be limited to one or two choices but can expand to 32 choices in a single mat with hundreds of digitized vocabulary words to add to the buttons. The Alpha Talker 2 can also be hooked up to the computer or used to control the environment such as lights and temperature. The Hand Held Voice from Mayer-Johnson is another device that is much more portable as it runs on battery, has eight-minute recording capacity and an LED display screen.
High Tech
-
High-tech devices are expensive but usually have amazing capabilities. The DynaVox, for example, has an add-on program that allows limited-movement students to communicate using an Eye Max system that responds to eye gaze. The Palm 3 is a highly portable device that uses a stylus for those with capable motor and cognitive abilities but need communication help. The DynaWrite is a portable keyboard system for those who are literate and prefer a keyboard-based solution to their communication needs.
Goals
-
The goal of using an augmentative communication device is not to make the user dependent on the devices to be a stepping stone to using the most natural communication possible. As students become older and more fluent, they will need to step up to more sophisticated and challenging devices to make their communication as fluent as possible.
-
