title: Qualitative analysis of decision making by speech-language pathologists in the design of aided visual displays.
abstract: For children with complex communication needs, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices offer a functional way to communicate thoughts and feelings. Despite many significant advances in the field, effective and efficient aided communication can remain a challenge for some clients and their partners. One critical element of aided AAC intervention is systematic attention to the design of the communication display itself. A well-designed display will foster communication outcomes; a poorly designed one might have the opposite effect. Surprisingly, to our knowledge there are no studies of the strategies that clinicians actually employ when putting together a display. In this research note, we examine, on a case-by-case basis, the strategies six clinicians used when constructing display pages, as a means of highlighting potential areas that might warrant systematic research on display design.
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison, 53705, USA. emcfadd@gmail.com <emcfadd@gmail.com>
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McFadd
authors.forename: Krista
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003142:Communication; D003143:Communication Devices for People with Disabilities; D003657:Decision Making; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008037:Linguistics; D011578:Psycholinguistics; D013066:Speech-Language Pathology; D013561:Symbolism; D014825:Vocabulary