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The purpose of this project was to understand the hopes of parents with children with ASD. Particularly understudied are the hopes parents have for long-term outcomes for their child. A cross-sectional focus group design was used and six focus groups were completed. These groups included parents of (1) preschool aged children who were recently diagnosed, (2) children in early elementary school, (3) children in later elementary school, (4) children in middle school, (5) children in high school, and (6) children who are adults with ASD. Results indicated 77.4% of the data were devoted to hopes for the children's independence, happiness, and skill improvement; increased authentic socially significant relationships; and future employment., Author(s): Erinn H. Finke [sup.1] , Jennifer M. D. Kremkow [sup.2] , Kathryn D. R. Drager [sup.3] , Angelique Murillo [sup.3] , Laura Richardson [sup.3] , Elizabeth C. Serpentine [sup.4] [...]

The present study investigated the learning demands of dynamic display augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technologies that differed in system layout and menu page approaches for 3-year-old children. Ten typically developing children were randomly assigned to each of 3 technology approaches and were asked to located vocabulary items within a play context. Results indicated that the children had difficulty with all of the technologies on initial exposure. After the 1st learning session, children performed significantly better with AAC technologies in a contextual scene format than in a grid format. Some limited generalization to new vocabulary was evident. AAC technologies for young children need to be redesigned to better reflect the developmental models of children. Results are discussed with implications for practice and suggestions for future research.KEY WORDS: augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), assistive technology, dynamic displays, children, learning

The current generation of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technologies is largely based on conceptual models of adults who are not disabled (J. Light & P. Lindsay, 1991). As a result, there is a large "cost of learning" placed on young children. This paper presents the results of a study designed to investigate the learning demands of dynamic display systems that differed in system layout and language organization for children approximately 2 1/2 years old (2 years 5 months to 2 years 11 months). Thirty typically developing children were asked to locate 12 vocabulary items within a play context of a birthday party. Ten children were randomly assigned to each of 3 system approaches: vocabulary in a grid format organized taxonomically, vocabulary in a grid format organized schematically, and vocabulary in an integrated scene organized schematically. The children participated in 4 learning and testing sessions and 1 generalization session. Results indicated that the children performed poorly in all conditions but were able to locate more vocabulary items in the schematic scene condition than the taxonomic grid orschematic grid conditions. There was evidence that the children failed to generalize their knowledge of the vocabulary to facilitate learning of novel vocabulary items. The current design of AAC dynamic display systems appears to be inappropriate for very young children. Rather than relying solely on technology for these young children, early intervention should target multiple modes of communication. AAC technologies should be redesigned to reduce learning demands. Results are discussed with implications for practice and suggestions for future research. KEY WORDS: augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), assistive technology, dynamic displays, children, learning, Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) techniques provide a means for young children to participate in social interaction and may facilitate children's development of language, literacy, social, and cognitive skills. Computer-based [...]

A constant-effort task was used previously as a potential assessment technique far fatigue. Participants sustained submaximal target effort levels with the tongue and hand against soft air-filled bulbs. For 80% of all trials, pressure decreased exponentially to a positive asymptote. In addition, pressure decreased faster when the muscles were fatigued than when they were rested. This study attempted to replicate the previous findings with new participants and to extend the findings to include surface electromyographic (EMG) data. Pressure and surface EMG signals were collected simultaneously while 10 neurologically normal young adults performed the constant-effort task at 50% of maximum pressure with the tongue and the hand. Eighty-one percent of the pressure data were modeled by a negative exponential equation with a nonzero asymptote. Seventy-three percent of the corresponding EMG data also fit this mathematical model. The pressure signals decayed more slowly than the corresponding EMG signals, particularly far the hand. After participants fatigued the tongue and hand with repeated brief maximal voluntary contractions, the time constants were reduced (rate of decay increased) far the tongue but not the hand. These results corroborate the previous finding that the time constant, determined from an exponential curve-fitting procedure, is a replicable measure. Furthermore, the reduction in the time constant after inducing acute fatigue in the tongue was replicated, although this same relationship was not replicated for the hand. The EMG data suggest that decreases in neuromuscular drive, including increased early adaptation, motor unit derecruitment, and motor unit desynchronization, contributed to the decrease in pressure during the constant-effort task, especially after acute fatigue was induced. These observations support the hypothesis that the task reflects, at least in part, central fatigue processes. KEY WORDS: fatigue, effort, tongue, handgrip, EMG assessment, Fatigue is a prominent symptom in a variety of neurogenic disorders. Because fatigue can affect motivation, physical functioning, and social activities, it can have a devastating impact on the quality [...]

The use of speech synthesis in electronic communication aids allows individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices to communicate with a variety of partners. However, communication will only be effective if the speech signal is readily understood by the listener. The intelligibility of synthesized speech is influenced by a variety of factors, including the provision of context. Although the facilitative effects of context have been demonstrated extensively in studies with young adults, there are few investigations into older adults' ability to decode the synthesized speech signal. The present study investigated whether discourse context affected the intelligibility of synthesized sentences for young adult and older adult listeners. Listeners were asked to repeat 15-word sentences that were either presented in isolation or preceded by a story that set the context for the sentence. Participants correctly repeated significantly more words in the sentences when they were preceded by related sentences than when the sentences were presented in isolation. This research shows a facilitating effect of context in discourse, wherein previous words and sentences are related to later sentences, for both younger and older adult listeners. These results have direct implications for AAC system message transmission. KEY WORDS: AAC, synthesized speech, discourse comprehension, context, older adults, The use of speech output in computer-based AAC devices allows individuals who are unable to use oral communication or who have highly unintelligible speech access to a "voice." Using a [...]