Auswahl der wissenschaftlichen Literatur zum Thema „Speech Communication|Sociology, Individual and Family Studies|Web Studies“

Abstract The self-anchored rating scale (SARS) is a technique that augments collaboration between Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) interventionists, their clients, and their clients' support networks. SARS is a technique used in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, a branch of systemic family counseling. It has been applied to treating speech and language disorders across the life span, and recent case studies show it has promise for promoting adoption and long-term use of high and low tech AAC. I will describe 2 key principles of solution-focused therapy and present 7 steps in the SARS process that illustrate how clinicians can use the SARS to involve a person with aphasia and his or her family in all aspects of the therapeutic process. I will use a case study to illustrate the SARS process and present outcomes for one individual living with aphasia.

The article aims to clarify the notion of “balanced language contact” and to model the situation of a language contact (in the present and the past) in one of the ethnically and linguistically mixed regions of the Montenegrin-Albanian linguistic border. The study focuses on the situation in the bilingual community of thevillageofVelja Gorana, located in the area of Mrkovići inSouthern Montenegro. The community of the village, as it seems at a first glance, provides a good example of a “balanced contact” situation. The language situation in Velja Gorana is described in the article as a set of micro-situations, or scenarios, developing on family and individual levels. Attention is paid not only to the communication in the family domain, but also to the external relations of the community members. Following on from this material, the authors attempt to develop a methodology for assessing the role of both languages in such communities in general, showing which factors influence individual linguistic behavior; how this behavior may change during an individual lifetime; how the different speakers’ strategies amalgamate in what can be considered as behavior of a multilingual speech community. Analyzing the information on the history of Velia Gorana, in particular, conducting a detailed examination of the origins, genealogies and marriage strategies of its families, allows the authors to reconstruct the mechanisms for the development of “linguistic exogamy” in the community of Velja Gorana and to make assumptions about the nature of the contact situation in this region in the past.

Purpose Parent–child interaction therapy refers to a number of interventions mediated by trained parents to treat developmental difficulties, including speech, language, and communication. Understanding the experiences of parents who take part in parent–child interaction therapy is a key aspect of determining how this intervention can be implemented successfully. However, to date, there has been limited work on synthesizing parental views of this intervention. Method We used qualitative evidence synthesis that involved searching the literature for qualitative studies addressing the experiences and perceptions of parent–child interaction therapy for parents of preschool children with communication difficulties. We identified 27 studies (from 32 publications) and synthesized the data using thematic synthesis. We appraised the quality of included studies using Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) and assessed our confidence in the review findings using GRADE Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research (CERQual). Results At the beginning of this intervention, parents may have competing demands and varied expectations about the intervention. Their engagement is facilitated when the intervention is tailored to their individual family, their preferences for learning, and when they have a trusting relationship with the clinician. At the end of the intervention, although most parents perceive an improvement in their child's communication and feel empowered to facilitate this, they have concerns about their child's future needs. Conclusions It is important that clinicians explore parents' readiness for this intervention by discussing their needs and preferences openly, and that they facilitate their engagement through a supportive relationship. They also need to consider how parents will transition out of the intervention and continue to support their child's language development. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14978454

Statement of the problem. The authors study the characteristics of maternal attitudes towards children of primary school age with severe speech disorders. Currently, a large number of studies of the impact of the family on the development of the child are recorded, while there are practically no studies of parental attitudes towards children with developmental disorders, including children with severe speech disorders. The purpose of the article is to describe the specifics of maternal attitudes to children of primary school age with severe speech disorders and to substantiate the directions and content of psychological and pedagogical work with this category of mothers. The research methodology is composed of scientific concepts reflecting the general and specific laws of the mental development of children, presented in the works of L.S. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontiev, V.V. Lebedinsky; studies by V.V. Tkacheva, characterizing the relationship of parents and children in families raising children with developmental disabilities; works by A.Y. Varga, A.S. Spivakovskaya, R.V. Ovcharova, Y.B. Hippenreuter, substantiating the significance of psychological support of the family to ensure the full mental and personal development of the child. The study involved 30 mothers raising primary school age children with severe speech disorders. The psychodiagnostic tool was the methodology for studying parental attitudes, developed by A.Y. Varga and V.V. Stolin, aimed at identifying the predominant type of parental attitudes towards the child; the methodology “Questionnaire of child-parental emotional interaction”, proposed by E.I. Zakharova, which allows assessing the severity of such indicators of parent-child interaction as sensitivity, emotional acceptance, behavioral manifestations. Research results. The peculiarities of maternal attitudes towards children of primary school age with severe speech disorders are described. It was established that mothers are characterized by a destructive attitude towards a child: the predominant types of parental relationship are “Authoritarian Hypersocialization” and “Little Loser”, which indicates the desire of mothers to exercise total control over the behavior of the child, based on the belief that the child is too small, immature, compared to peers, is not adapted to independent life. At the same time, the emotional interaction of mothers with children is characterized by insufficient expression of emotional acceptance, the ability to provide emotional support to the child. Conclusion. Based on the identified features of parental attitude to children with severe speech disorders, the authors proposed and substantiated a system of psychological and pedagogical work with mothers, which involves: informing parents about the features of mental and personal development of a child with severe speech disorder; mastering techniques of effective communication with the child; establishing a friendly parent-child relationship. The main content of this work is psychological education, as well as individual and group counselling of parents.

The preschool period is a peculiar stage of child speech and language development in terms of both quantity and quality. Children’s vocabulary increases and the semantic aspect of the words they use extends. Preschool-aged children should make utterances that are relevant to the situation and also know specific grammatical rules. This proves their maturity in this area. The quality of speech and language development shows mainly in children's ability to communicate with different people – both peers and adults. Making fluent utterances becomes noticeable in children’s school readiness. School readiness results from children’s experiences collected thanks to their own activities as well as thanks to the learning received from educational institutions (preschool, school, counseling center) and the family. According to this approach, school readiness can be understood as the preparedness of the child with Asperger syndrome for academic tasks. The literature lacks studies on school readiness in students with Asperger syndrome. School readiness is presented with reference to the developmental norm, taking into account children’s biological maturity and, at the same time, the readiness of appointed institutions and communities to support children’s capacities in individual areas. In the role of students, experiencing the world in purposely designed (academic) situations, children with Asperger syndrome may encounter difficulties. The article discusses the concept of school readiness and its components in the context of communication capacities in students with Asperger syndrome. Theoretical approaches to the elements of school readiness presented are expanded with examples of various situations in which children with Asperger syndrome showed their communication skills. The situations described in the article come from observations made as part of the authors research on support for students with autism spectrum disorders in academic situations.

AbstractPhotovoice is a participatory action research method in which people take photographs to represent real-world experiences, so that issues of interest/concern can be documented. There are no published studies in which photovoice has been used in audiological rehabilitation (AR). The purpose of this feasibility study was to examine whether photovoice could have application in audiology.A feasibility study was designed to determine whether photovoice could be adapted for use as a clinical auditory rehabilitation tool (1) to facilitate provision of tailored communication strategy counseling, (2) as a post–hearing aid fitting counseling tool, (3) to enhance communication between partners regarding hearing loss, and (4) to provide an understanding of the emotional impacts of hearing loss.In this combined qualitative and quantitative feasibility study, a photovoice intervention was given to four groups of participants.Twenty-four individuals were recruited from a research subject data repository at the National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research.The study involved two visits to the laboratory during which participants received instruction in photovoice methodology (visit 1) and then, one to two weeks later, discussed their photographs during a debriefing session (visit 2).The mean number of photographs taken by participants was 12.6 (range: 4–29); the mean duration of the debriefing sessions was 40:39 min:sec (range: 14:30–66:22 min:sec). Participants reported that participating had made them think more about their hearing problems, appreciate their hearing aids more, and be more aware of the situations in which their hearing aids did and did not help. The taking and discussion of the photographs was also described as a learning tool, and it had facilitated conversations with others about hearing problems. Participants who completed the study with their communication partner (use case 3) said it had assisted with problem-solving and gave insight into the perspective of their partner. The research team noted that photovoice facilitated highly tailored counseling and provision of evidence-based recommendations for hearing assistive technology, enhanced interaction between communication partners, provided insight into participants’ lifestyle and communication needs, and seemed to generate rapport and trust.This feasibility study indicated that participants were willing to engage in photovoice and that it could be used to guide selection of rehabilitation recommendations and for postfitting counseling. Its application in audiological practice would seem timely and valuable for improving patient-centered and family-centered AR.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to explore the literature on predictors of outcomes among late talkers using systematic review and meta-analysis methods. We sought to answer the question: What factors predict preschool-age expressive-language outcomes among late-talking toddlers?MethodWe entered carefully selected search terms into the following electronic databases: Communication & Mass Media Complete, ERIC, Medline, PsycEXTRA, Psychological and Behavioral Sciences, and PsycINFO. We conducted a separate, random-effects model meta-analysis for each individual predictor that was used in a minimum of 5 studies. We also tested potential moderators of the relationship between predictors and outcomes using metaregression and subgroup analysis. Last, we conducted publication-bias and sensitivity analyses.ResultsWe identified 20 samples, comprising 2,134 children, in a systematic review. According to the results of the meta-analyses, significant predictors of expressive-language outcomes included toddlerhood expressive-vocabulary size, receptive language, and socioeconomic status. Nonsignificant predictors included phrase speech, gender, and family history.ConclusionsTo our knowledge this is the first synthesis of the literature on predictors of outcomes among late talkers using meta-analysis. Our findings clarify the contributions of several constructs to outcomes and highlight the importance of early receptive language to expressive-language development.Supplemental Materialshttps://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5313454

All established languages, spoken or signed, make a distinction between nouns and verbs. Even a young sign language emerging within a family of deaf individuals has been found to mark the noun-verb distinction, and to use handshape type to do so. Here we ask whether handshape type is used to mark the noun-verb distinction in a gesture system invented by a deaf child who does not have access to a usable model of either spoken or signed language. The child produces homesigns that have linguistic structure, but receives from his hearing parents co-speech gestures that are structured differently from his own gestures. Thus, unlike users of established and emerging languages, the homesigner is a producer of his system but does not receive it from others. Nevertheless, we found that the child used handshape type to mark the distinction between nouns and verbs at the early stages of development. The noun-verb distinction is thus so fundamental to language that it can arise in a homesign system not shared with others. We also found that the child abandoned handshape type as a device for distinguishing nouns from verbs at just the moment when he developed a combinatorial system of handshape and motion components that marked the distinction. The way the noun-verb distinction is marked thus depends on the full array of linguistic devices available within the system.

<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>The speeches prepared in a plan and presented to the target group are in the ready speech class. Changing world conditions personalize the person and break away from the outside world. This situation leads to an increase in the number of people who are inadequate in interpersonal communication, difficult to express themselves, and who can not express the situation they are facing. Appropriate studies should be carried out to train the generations that can express your verbal thought and adopt a level of personality. At this point, it is very important to determine the levels and interests of individuals. At this point, the motivation of individuals who are reluctant to open individuals can be improved in this way.</p><p>This research was conducted to determine the selection of topics on the lower level prepared by junior high school students. "Are middle school students different in their choice of subject, such as readiness, gender, grade level, parental level of education, family economic level, book page reading per month?" And "What are the opinions of the middle school students in the subjects of the prepared talk?" the answer was searched. A complementary hybrid design was used in the study. The first group of the study consisted of 24 selected students. Data; The semi-structured interview form for the first sub-problem and the second semi-structured interview form for the second sub-problem were analyzed by frequency and percentage calculation. It has been examined whether subject selection tendencies differ according to variables such as gender, class level, parental education level, family economic level, number of book pages read in one month. In the second part of the research, thematic coding was done.</p><p>5th and 6th grades, animal and nature in topic selection, environment in 7th grade, 8th class sports branches are extraordinary. Subject selection; The gender of the students, the level of education of the father, the educational status of the mother, the profession of the father, the occupation of the mother, the monthly income of the family and the number of books read in a month. When the general opinions of the middle school students are evaluated regarding the prepared speech, the negative aspects such as excitement, interruption and not being able to express themselves can not be prevented with prepared speeches. Students can communicate their thoughts effectively.</p><p><strong>Öz</strong></p><p>Bir plan dahilinde hazırlanıp hedef kitleye sunulan konuşmalar, hazırlıklı konuşma sınıfındadır. Değişen dünya koşulları, insanı bireyselleştirmekte ve dış dünya ile olan ilişkilerini koparmaktadır. Bu durum kişiler arası iletişimde yetersiz, kendini ifade etmekte zorlanan, karşılaştığı sorunlar karşısında içinde bulunduğu durumu dile getiremeyen bireylerin artmasına neden olmaktadır. Düşündüğünü sözlü olarak doğru ifade edebilen nesiller yetiştirmek, beceriyi kişilik özelliği olacak düzeyde benimsetmek için seviyeye uygun çalışmaların yürütülmesi gerekmektedir. Bu noktada ise bireylerin seviyelerinin ve ilgi alanlarının belirlenmesi büyük önem arz etmektedir. Duygu ve düşüncelerini açığa vurmada isteksiz durumda olan bireylerin motivasyonu bu şekilde artırılabilecektir.</p><p>Bu araştırma, ortaokul öğrencilerinin hazırlıklı konuşmada konu seçimlerini belirlemek amacıyla yapılmıştır. “Ortaokul öğrencilerinin hazırlıklı konuşmada konu seçimleri, cinsiyet, sınıf seviyesi, anne-baba eğitim düzeyi, ailenin ekonomik seviyesi, ayda okuduğu kitap sayfası değişkenlerine göre farklılık göstermekte midir?” ve “Ortaokul öğrencilerinin hazırlıklı konuşmada konu seçimleri ile ilgili görüşleri nelerdir?” sorularına cevap aranmıştır. Araştırmada tamamlayıcı karma desen kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın birinci çalışma grubunu, resmi bir okulda öğrenim gören 120 ortaokul öğrencisi; ikinci çalışma grubunu, birinci çalışma grubu içerisinden seçilen 24 öğrenci oluşturmaktadır. Veriler; birinci alt problem için ölçme aracı ile ikinci alt problem için yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu ile toplanmış, frekans ve yüzde hesaplamasıyla çözümlenerek yorumlanmıştır. Konu seçme eğilimlerinin cinsiyet, sınıf seviyesi, anne-baba eğitim düzeyi, ailenin ekonomik seviyesi, bir ayda okunan kitap sayfası sayısı değişkenlerine göre farklılaşıp farklılaşmadığı incelenmiştir. Araştırmanın ikinci kısmından elde edilen veriler tematik kodlama yapılarak analiz edilmiştir.</p><p>5 ve 6.sınıfların konu seçimlerinde hayvanlar ve doğa konusu, 7.sınıfta çevre konusu, 8.sınıfta spor dalları öne çıkan konulardır. Konu seçimleri; öğrencilerin cinsiyetlerine, baba eğitim durumuna, anne eğitim durumuna, baba mesleğine, anne mesleğine, ailenin aylık gelirine, bir ayda okunan kitap sayfası sayısına göre anlamlı bir şekilde farklılaşmamaktadır. Ortaokul öğrencilerinin hazırlıklı konuşmayla ilgili genel görüşleri değerlendirildiğinde hazırlıklı konuşma ile heyecan, kekeleme, kendini ifade edememe gibi olumsuzlukların ortadan kalktığı; öğrencilerin düşüncelerini etkili bir şekilde aktarabildikleri görülmüştür.Çalışmanın bulguları öğretmenler, ders kitabı yazarları tarafından dikkate alındığında öğrencilerin duygu ve düşüncelerini ortaya koymadaki isteksizliği giderilmiş, motivasyonları artırılmış olacaktır. Kendilerini daha iyi ifade eden ve konuşma becerisini kişilik özelliği olacak düzeyde benimseyen bireyler yetiştirilebilecektir.</p>

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) may result in a broad array of cognitive-communicative impairments. Cognitive-communicative impairments are the result of deficits in linguistic and nonlinguistic cognitive functions. The speech-language pathologist functions as a member of the multidisciplinary team of professionals that collaboratively assess and treat individuals with TBI. The role of the speech-language pathologist includes assessment of all aspects of communication, as well as the communicative implications of cognitive deficits, and swallowing; treatment planning and programming, as determined by the individual's stage of recovery; client and family training/counseling; and interdisciplinary consultation. The effectiveness of speech and language intervention for specific cognitive deficits (e.g., attention, memory, executive functions) as well as general issues of social-skills training and early intervention are illustrated by scientific and clinical evidence from group-treatment and single-subject studies as well as case studies.

The main purpose of this study was to examine the role of specific social cognitive skills in psychosocial and relational adjustment to a chronic illness. The particular chronic illness investigated in this study was female breast cancer, and 30 married heterosexual couples facing the onset and treatment of breast cancer volunteered to be participants. The study was founded on the premise that chronic illness often presents as much of a social and relational challenge as it does a physical challenge. Based on this premise, the study's central argument was that persons equipped with relatively more sophisticated interpersonal communication skills would receive higher ratings of their communication functioning by their partners, express higher levels of marital satisfaction, and (in the case of wives) exhibit better psychosocial adjustment than would persons with less sophisticated communication skills. A significant association was revealed between participants' construct differentiation and message design logic. Contrary to predictions, no relationship was found between participants' social cognitive skills and partners' ratings of participants' communication functioning, or between participants' social cognitive skills and partners' assessments of global relationship satisfaction. A positive trend for wives and a significant positive association for husbands were found for the predicted relationship between participants' assessments of their partners' communication functioning and their own global relationship satisfaction. Partial support was provided for the predicted associations between wives' social cognitive skills and their own psychosocial adjustment to breast cancer, and between wives' social cognitive skills and their assessments of partners' communication functioning. Additional analyses revealed that wives' global relationship satisfaction was significantly associated with time since diagnosis and disease stage, whereas husbands' global relationship satisfaction was significantly associated with time since diagnosis only. Supplemental analyses also indicated several hypothesis-disconfirming negative associations between participants' social cognitive skills and participants' assessments of partners' communication functioning, global relationship satisfaction, and wives' psychosocial adjustment to breast cancer. These associations were found, however, only for couples wherein partners had highly discrepant construct differentiation scores. Despite providing only mixed support for the study's central argument, the study's results present several interesting findings that warrant further investigation. Intervention implications are also identified.

Compatibility is a concept that has enjoyed considerable attention in the arena of close relationship research and has emerged as a consistent factor in the experience of positive relational outcomes such as relationship satisfaction and stability. Despite this attention, however, the treatment of compatibility has generally been limited to domains specific to the studies in which it has been utilized. The present study sought to integrate research and theory in two distinct domains, need fulfillment and compatibility, in an attempt to provide an overarching explanation for findings linking compatibility to relational outcomes based on interpersonal need fulfillment. This task involved two distinct, but related, domains. First, general associations among interpersonal need fulfillment, well-being, and social network structure were examined in an attempt to develop a more refined understanding of the interaction between need fulfillment and specific relationships with respect to overall effects on well-being. Analyses were confined to the consideration of interpersonal needs (those requiring others for fulfillment) and relied on the three-dimensional model proposed by Schutz (1966) and comprised of needs for affection, inclusion, and control. Second, need fulfillment was examined in the context of exclusive romantic relationships, and a form of compatibility based on the interpersonal need levels of the partners was introduced and posited to represent an overarching form of compatibility and a major predictor of relationship satisfaction. Analyses involved 91 couples involved in exclusive romantic relationships and 105 individuals who were not involved in exclusive relationships at the time. Results indicated that interpersonal need fulfillment plays an important role in the experience of overall well-being. Furthermore, the fulfillment of specific needs and the experience of well-being were associated with the presence of certain relationships in one's social network (specifically an exclusive romantic relationship). Interpersonal need compatibility in the areas of inclusion and control was found to be a significant predictor of relationship satisfaction, supporting the validity of the interpersonal need compatibility construct. Overall, the proposed framework demonstrated utility value, and important insights regarding need fulfillment and network structure emerged, but additional research is needed to fully understand the interplay of these factors.

Open and sincere communication produces an atmosphere that allows family members to articulate love and respect for one another. Results make it obvious that family communication is an important untapped resource when discussing increasing rates of HIV/AIDS infections. This study examines family communication, African Americans and HIV/AIDS prevention.

With 32% of the reported cases of AIDS are African Americans and only 12 % of American population is African American. It is essential to find new preventative measure to suppress HIV rates in African American communities. By assessing the communication orientation(s) that work best when providing sex education to teenagers it can establish a foundation for further research on communication about sex education, HIV and STD prevention. With the findings of what communication style(s) work best it can alter the stigmas of homosexuality tied to HIV in the African American community, delineating the discouragement of homosexual sex education lowering the rate of HIV and STD transmission.

Using semi-structured interviewing with open-ended questions made interviews more informal and easy for participants to divulge specific information. Participants were African American men and women, between the age of 18-25, residing in Southern Maryland and had a younger sibling. With the use of spiral of silence theory the study found that mass opinion given by the black church of abstinence and the lack of education on HIV/AIDS prevention due to biblical text has created a moral divide for those within the congregation that would like to speak out for preventative provisions.

This study of 51 couples with one or two recovering alcoholic partners examined the daily communication practices and contextual variables as predictors of partner abstinence efficacy, relationship satisfaction, and well-being. A conceptual model based on a systems perspective was applied to male and female partners. 34 dual-alcoholic couples and 17 single-alcoholic couples recruited from A.A., Al-Anon, and two local treatment programs completed individual questionnaires and conjoint interviews in their homes at Time 1, and brief telephone interviews at 3 months follow-up. Results indicate that women and men differ in the ways they respond to circumstances in their recovery and in their relationships. For men, abstinence efficacy was linked to poor conflict management, negative talk among partners, sobriety length, and relationship satisfaction. Women's abstinence efficacy was linked to their emotional well-being, and changes in women's temptation to drink were predicted by poor couple conflict management, less positivity among partners, and less emotional disclosure in men. High levels of daily stress in men were related to both partners' daily communication, particularly men's conflict management and women's negative talk. Couples with less than 15 months of sobriety differed from couples with more than 29 months of sobriety in conflict management and stress in the last year. In all, communication practices and daily stress play important but differing roles in maintaining sobriety and relationship satisfaction in male and female partners. The model was partially supported by the data, but needs modifications to reflect dissimilar relationships among variables in male and female partners. Policy implications and suggestions for further research are discussed.

Parents and speech language pathologist (SLP) typically establish and maintain hierarchical relationships which ascribe excessive authority to the therapist, thus limiting the possibilities for dialogue and mutual learning. The SLPs discussions of children?s communication development often fail to acknowledge the contributions that parents can make, based on their knowledge and experiences with children at home. Neglecting parents? voices in communication intervention means the parents? critical role in supporting children?s communication development is overlooked. By investigating with parents their perspectives on children?s communication facilitation and social interaction experiences in and out of the home environment, this study sought to understand the relationships between parent?s beliefs and practices for communication facilitation and to model processes by which parents and SLP?s develop a reciprocal dialogue. This study draws insights into how parent initiated communication facilitation and social interaction for children with complex communication needs (CCNs) in a rural rehabilitation center in Kerala can be improved through examining a collaboratively created communication partner training program for parents and used a participatory action research approach centered on cooperative inquiry. Six parents of children younger than 6.5 years with CCNs, joined me in a six-month long co-investigation. Individually and collectively we raised questions, observed, documented, and reflected on communication facilitation strategies in and out of the homes. Weekly meetings were held involving all the participants and occasionally with individual families. Data sources included research diaries written by myself about parent?s experiences, audiotapes of meetings, participants? reflective journal entries, and children?s communication profiles constructed jointly by parents and the researcher. When children?s communication was documented based on children?s communication at home, we observed a wide variety that was not assessed in the standard communication assessments. The study?s findings provide evidence that parents can be a rich resource for SLPs and researchers. The data reveal the perceptions and practices of parents for communication facilitation. It also shows some of the real-life challenges for communication and interaction facilitation. Parents raised issues about current practices in communication interventions, misunderstandings about speech therapy, and training/teaching and learning relationships. This suggests that organizing parent training programs based on western models would be inappropriate. Through the parent practitioner research process, we were able to develop and introduce `conversation books? as a way for viewing the child as a communication partner and to provide more interaction opportunities for the children viewed as `sick child.? This process provides further evidence for the importance of including parents? knowledge and experience in the design of effective learning contexts for their children. These findings suggest that beyond the currently existent routine clinician-parent meeting (5 minute or lesser sessions, of giving instructions to parents), alternative structures for dialogue with practitioners are needed that allow for parents? critical reflection and substantive contributions to the children?s communication intervention plans.

This study investigated parents’ experiences, challenges, benefits, and needs regarding their child’s voice output communication aid (VOCA). Three mothers who had children who use a VOCA device as their primary form of communication were recruited from Goodwill of Orange County’s Technology Exchange Center and Prentke Romich Company (PRC) and were interviewed by phone or email questionnaire. Thematic analysis of the interview data revealed four major themes: (a) benefits of VOCA use, (b) barriers to VOCA use, (c) facilitators of VOCA use, and (d) continuing needs of families. The information obtained from this study can be used to better serve families and children who use VOCAs and other AAC devices to avoid barriers (e.g., insufficient training) and abandonment and to foster more successful outcomes. Further research is necessary to continue to investigate the needs of parents in terms of their child’s device as well as the effectiveness of device training programs.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006.
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-11, Section: A, page: 4038. Adviser: Dale Brashers. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-147) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.