AAC selection through dynamic assessment for a child with intellectual disability.

Area of Science:

• Speech and Language Pathology
• Developmental Psychology
• Assistive Technology

Background:

• Children with intellectual disabilities (IDs) often face significant communication impairments.
• Selecting appropriate augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems is crucial for improving functional communication in this population.
• Traditional assessment methods may not fully capture a child's learning potential with different AAC interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a contemporary assessment method for selecting optimal AAC systems for children with IDs.
• To utilize dynamic assessment (DA) to identify an AAC system that enhances a child's communication abilities.
• To explore the effectiveness of DA in tailoring AAC solutions for individual needs.

Main Methods:

• Employed dynamic assessment (DA) to evaluate a child's capacity for skill acquisition with specific prompts and modifications.
• Introduced three AAC scenarios (high-tech, low-tech pictures, low-tech photo-based book) to a middle childhood boy with ID.
• Systematically modified tasks and AAC system presentations during the assessment process.

Main Results:

• The DA identified two essential modifications to the AAC system that significantly improved the child's functional communication.
• The assessment demonstrated the value of a tailored approach over generic AAC system selection.
• Practical challenges with advanced AAC systems (accessibility, relevance, usability) were highlighted.

Conclusions:

• Dynamic assessment (DA) is a valuable method for selecting appropriate AAC systems for children with intellectual disabilities (IDs).
• Consideration of individual communication needs, language level, and cognitive ability is paramount.
• DA facilitates personalized AAC interventions, addressing limitations of widely adopted advanced systems.