Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Strategies Outlined on UW Web Site
By Dowden, Patricia, PhD; Washington Assistive Technology Alliance (WATA) Bulletin,Publication Date: Summer 2001
Article describes a web site at the University of Washington called AW Augcomm, which has information about augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device features. The site, which is located at http://depts.washington.edu/augcomm, is not intended to give an overview of all devices on the market. Instead, it teaches the reader about some of the relevant features of devices and strategies, including: (1) selection sets, which include examples of devices and strategies with different types of displays, including alphabets for spelling, words/phrases, and line drawings or photographs, (2) output options, including information about the ways a message is communicated to the listener or communication partner, such as text-to-speech, digitized speech, and visual displays, (3) vocabulary features, including information on the ways that vocabulary can affect the AAC user, such as vocabulary size, vocabulary types, accessibility of the vocabulary to the user, and pre-selected vocabulary sets, (4) access methods, including an overview of the ways AAC users can control a communication device or strategy, namely direct selection and indirect selection, and all types of scanning, and (5) physical features, such as some of the external characteristics of devices, including size and portability, clarity of display, and laptops versus dedicated devices.
Published by: Washington Assistive Technology Act Program (WATAP) (Website:http://watap.org)
Center for Technology and Disability Studies (Web Site: http://uwctds.washington.edu )
Link to text: http://wata.org/pubs/bulletins/summer2001.htm
This publication is included in the library of the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), accession number O14855
