AAC Assessment

1. AAC Assessment • “a process whereby data are collected and information is gathered to make intervention and/or management decisions.” • Lloyd, Fuller & Arvidson, 1997, p. 524 AAC Assessment

2. How should you proceed ? • Process? • Ob-Scertainer • Carefully shake and tilt your Ob-Scertainer • From the sound & path of the steel ball, determine the shape and location of the partition or partitions • Draw your hypothesis or best guess in a circle AAC Assessment

3. 2 Approaches • Comprehensive • Problem Oriented Approach • Capability Approach AAC Assessment

4. Comprehensive AAC assessment • To determine the best AAC system for an individual • Basic questions, what are. • individual’s communication needs or goals? • individual’s strengths and abilities? • barriers are preventing the individual from achieving his or her full communication/participation potential? • aids and adaptations that need to be used to accomplish the child’s goals given his or her strengths and abilities, and current circumstances? AAC Assessment

5. Capability ApproachYorkston & Karlan (1986) • Identifying individual’s level of performance in critical areas that pertain to communication intervention, such as: • communication, • cognition, • motor control, • vision. • Capability Plus Approach • Implement strategies to make individual successful AAC Assessment

6. Making Decisions about Components of Aided AAC • Selection technique • scanning or direct selection • Input device. • switch, keyboard • Selection Set • visual, auditory, and/or tactile presentation of items (e.g. letters and keys on the keyboard) • coverage, development • Transmitted Output • text on the monitor screen, speech, Braille print-out, movement of a powered wheelchair • Strategies • encoding, word prediction, abbreviation expansion AAC Assessment

7. AAC Assessment Process • Determine & Develop Question (s) of Interest • Determine Direct Selection Technique • Current Communication & Needs • Cognitive Skills • Visual-Motor • Motor Control • Visual Status • Switch • Consult Seating, Positioning and Mobility Needs AAC Assessment

8. Communication Gamel-McCormick & Dymond, 1994 • Expressive Communication. • What does the student currently use to communicate? • What are communication needs? AAC Assessment

9. Expressive Communication • What does the person currently use to • expressively request objects, • continue an action, • stop an action, • request social interaction, • express a feeling, • make a choice, • initiate an interaction, • terminate an interaction, or • request assistance ? AAC Assessment

10. Present Ways of Communication • Oral Speech • Symbolic Representation (symbols, text) • Reading & Writing Ability • Non-Oral Communication • Communication Effectiveness • Communication Partners • Communication Settings • Message Needs • Functional • Social • Informational – Sharing – Conversation • Developmental & Educational/Vocational Needs AAC Assessment

11. Receptive Communication • What type of symbolic representation (object, picture, line drawing, words) do you think the student best understands? • Auditory Skills? AAC Assessment

12. Motor Skills • Does the student have a hand preference? • Do they have the ability to reach, grasp, grasp and release, isolate a finger, and/or point? • In what position is the student able to optimally move and respond? • What reliable, predictable motor movements does the student have? AAC Assessment

13. Motor Skills • Positioning • Factors that influence access to and functional use of ACC • Switch Assessment • Determine type and placement of switch (motor control must be consistent, reliable, transparent) • Features of switches (e.g. size, feedback, travel, durability) • Functional performance with switch may differ from evaluation performance AAC Assessment

14. Functional Vision • Assess ability to • fixate on a target (visual acuity and field • different sizes, distances and positions to get an idea of. • track a moving target. • localize and discriminate of a particular item on a page • scan along rows and columns • Gradually increase number of items. AAC Assessment

15. Vision and Visual Perception • Visual acuity - size of the items • Visual field - area which can be seen without a shift in gaze • Eye movement problems - difficulty maintaining gaze, or involuntary movements • positioning of the selection set, the layout, the spacing between items, and the ability to track moving items • Light and colour sensitivity • low and high levels of illumination. • glare • particular colour combinations (e.g. yellow-on-black key stickers are available for standard keyboards • colour coding particular keys AAC Assessment

16. Underlying Principles of Assessment • Evaluate communication needs and capabilities, in order to implement the augmentative communication system as soon as possible to enable the individual to begin immediate communication interaction. • Identify communication system individual currently uses • Determine the skills that an individual has or needs to develop in order to communicate effectively • Refine current methods & identify new methods • Determine effectiveness & efficiency • Ultimately, determine optimal way to configure system AAC Assessment

17. Assessment Resources • Gamel-McCormick & Dymond (1994) • http://acc.k12.ar.us/easter_seals/images/pdf_files/Augmentative_Communication_Assessment.pdf • http://www.ttac.odu.edu/Articles/Gamel.html • Communication checklist • http://www.wati.org/products/freematerials.html • Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Connecting Young Kids (YAACK) - aac.unl.edu/yaack/ AAC Assessment

18. AAC Funding & Report Writing • Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers • AAC-RERC website. http://www.aac-rerc.com -- Medicare Funding of AAC Technology. Information obtained on May 20, 2005. Supported in part by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). • Dynavox Systems • http://www.dynavoxtech.com/funding/reportassist.aspx • GUS • http://www.gusinc.com/medicare.html • PrentkeRomich • http://www.prentrom.com/fund/medicare.html AAC Assessment