by Julia Wynne, MA, CCC-SLP (Speech-Language Pathologist); NWACS Contributor

Simply providing an Augmentative/Alternative Communication (AAC) system to an individual does not mean that they will automatically be able to use the system to communicate throughout their day. Janice Light introduced us to communicative competencies in AAC in 1989. She proposed that communicative competence included four domains for AAC users, including Operational Competence, Functional/Social Competence, Linguistic Competence, and Strategic Competence. A fifth area of communicative competence has since been added in the area of Psychosocial Competence (Light et al. 2003).

The Social Competence area is vital for AAC users to interact with friends, family, coworkers, and community members. Asking social questions to engage with communication partners is essential in promoting social communication skills. Partner-focused questions involve asking questions based on the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of others. This study by Light et al. looks at teaching AAC users to ask partner-focused questions and measuring the effect on how others view their communicative competence.  

I will start by defining some key terms, followed by the research questions. I will follow that with a summary of the findings and some critical takeaways so that we can apply this research to teaching our AAC learners. Let’s get started!   

Teaching Partner-Focused Questions to Individuals Who Use Augmentative and Alternative Communication to Enhance Their Communicative Competence

Baseline measure: a measure of skills before instruction to compare with a measure of skills after instruction (outcome measure)

Communicative Competence (AAC): proficiency in domains of language that guide AAC learning. It is an individual's ability to freely express ideas, thoughts, and feelings to a variety of listeners across contexts and include:

-Functional/Social Competence: social skills involved in communication

-Linguistic Competence: knowledge of the linguistic code of the individual’s AAC system as well as their community language

-Operational Competence: the skills required to use the AAC system or device, such as turning on/off device or using selection techniques

-Strategic Competence: special skills that are unique to AAC-based communication, such as word/phrase prediction or asking for choices when vocabulary is limited

-Psychosocial Competence: the ability to handle the demands of everyday life, maintain a state of well-being, and demonstrate adaptive and positive behavior when interacting with others

Partner-Focused Questions: questions directed toward the conversation partner that are focused on the partner and their thoughts, feelings, interests, and experiences.

The research aimed to answer a variety of questions:

a.  Does the instruction result in the acquisition and spontaneous use of partner-focused questions?

b.  Does instruction result in generalized use of partner-focused questions to new partners and contexts?

c.  Does instruction result in maintenance of partner-focused questions after formal instruction has ended?

d.  Is the use of partner-focused questions valued by the AAC users and their significant others?

e.  Do the use of partner-focused questions enhance communicative competence as perceived by the general public (adults without disabilities without prior experience with AAC)? 

Individuals who use AAC  are more challenged than typical peers in social communication skills due to limitations in operational, strategic, and linguistic competencies. Natural speakers who are competent communicators tend to be oriented to other individuals, meaning that they think and focus on others when interacting socially. The ability to ask partner-focused questions during conversation is an indicator of the level of interest in another person. This skill can often be difficult for AAC learners, especially because the focus of AAC learning is frequently in other areas, such as learning to use the AAC system and learning vocabulary and grammar. This research highlights the importance of instruction in specific social skills and the impact on how communication partners receive AAC learners and users.

Six individuals participated in the study who were AAC users ranging from age 10-44. Before participating in the study, these individuals rarely started social interactions with other individuals. Between 5-10 partner-focused questions were chosen and pre-programmed into the devices of the participants. Two of the participants also formed novel questions via single word symbols, natural speech, and letter-by-letter spelling. Baseline measures were collected to compare with the results of the study at the end of instruction. The individuals were provided a demonstration of the use of partner-focused questions by the instructor and were then given multiple opportunities to practice asking partner-focused questions in various speaking situations (school, home, therapy room) with familiar and unfamiliar conversation partners.

All of the participants learned to ask partner-focused questions during instruction and generalized use of these questions with new partners and in new situations. All of the AAC users, as well as support individuals (teachers, parents, residential counselors), indicated that they were more competent communicators as a result of the instruction. Twenty individuals from the general public without disabilities or experience with AAC also rated 4 of 6 participants as more competent communicators after viewing videotapes from before and after instruction. Results of the study indicated that the intervention was successful and improved the quality of the participant's social interactions. 

Teaching social skills, such as asking partner-focused questions, to AAC users can be an effective way to improve the communicative competence of these individuals. It was helpful for individuals to practice these skills in a variety of situations with a variety of communication partners to promote carryover of skills. The instruction was provided in as many natural environments and contexts as possible, which meant that the interactions were meaningful and familiar. The participants, as well as their friends and families, valued the outcomes of the instruction provided, showing that these gains in social communication had a meaningful impact on these individuals.

Please comment with any thoughts or questions!  

Full article link:  https://doi.org/10.1044/jslhr.4201.241

Images include Boardmaker PCS. The Picture Communication Symbols ©1981–2018 by Mayer-Johnson LLC. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Used with permission.

References

Light, J.C. (1989). Toward a definition of communicative competence for individuals using augmentative and alternative communication systems. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 5,4, 137-144.

Light, J. C., Beukelman, D. R., & Reichle, J. (2003). Communicative competence for individuals who use AAC: From research to effective practice. Baltimore, MD: Brookes.

Light, J., Binger, C., Agate, T., & Ramsay, K. (1999). Teaching partner-focused questions to individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication to enhance their communicative competence. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 42, 241–255

You can read other posts about research HERE