Aided Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) interventions in India: A scoping review and quality appraisal

The current scoping review aims to map the existing research on aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interventions in India, identify the gaps in the existing literature, and guide future research priorities. A comprehensive search between 1992 and 2022 yielded 39 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Studies were summarized in terms of publication details, treatment settings and geographical distribution, participant characteristics, study purpose, research design, dependent variables, outcome measures, independent variables, study findings, and quality appraisal. A relatively large proportion of studies originated from the southern part of India. A considerable increase was noted in the number of intervention studies published over the last decade. Most of the intervention studies followed a quasi-experimental or a case study design and focused on investigating the effect of training on an AAC system on the performance of individuals with communication disorders. Largely, all studies reported positive effects of AAC intervention; however, based on the quality appraisal, only a handful of studies adhered to high standards. Hence, to elevate the quality of AAC intervention research in India, it is imperative to employ robust methodologies in future studies.