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Published on: April 23, 2014
Self-Assessment Instruments Related to Functional Ability for People Who Use Augmentative and Alternative
Irina Savolainen1, Maja Sigurd Pilesjö2
1Department of Speech and Language Pathology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Background:
Everyone, regardless of whether they have disabilities, has the right to be heard and to participate in decisions that affect them, including their rehabilitation. Right to self-determination extends to individuals with severe speech impairments who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Self-assessment instruments can be used when exercising this right. Historically, there has been a limited focus on self-assessment instruments within the AAC field. This gap highlights the need to explore self-assessment in AAC, motivating this scoping review.
Aims:
The aim was to identify and characterize the self-assessment instruments developed in the AAC field to date. Our specific aim was to investigate the existing self-assessment instruments for both adult and paediatric AAC populations and identify gaps. We aimed to describe the availability, administration procedures and intended purposes of these instruments related to functional ability.
Methods:
The PRISMA protocol for scoping reviews was followed for the search, inclusion, extraction and analysis of the studies. We included articles where self-assessment instruments were used by or considered for people who use AAC (PWUAAC). The aims of the instruments were analysed according to the categories in the personal factors domain of the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) framework.
Main Contributions:
The review presents a list of self-assessment instruments along with a thorough description for each. This list can be used in clinical practice and research in the AAC field. The lack of instruments in several areas should inspire their further development. A systematic approach to self-assessment in AAC could enhance autonomy and improve interventions.
Conclusions:
The review identified 22 instruments for self-assessment for PWUAAC of different ages, and most instruments used scales for responses. The focus of the instruments was on exploring the thoughts and beliefs of PWUAAC. The review revealed a lack of instruments addressing feelings, motives and non-English languages, as well as a need to improve the instruments' psychometric properties.
What This Paper Adds:
What is already known on this subject The importance of involving clients in the planning of their rehabilitation has been widely researched, and clients' own evaluation has been shown to be crucial for understanding their specific daily requirements. What this paper adds to existing knowledge This study identifies and describes the current self-assessment instruments for PrAAC and highlights the gaps in the psychometric properties of existing instruments as well as their relation to personal factors of functional disability. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Understanding the full spectrum of existing self-assessment instruments not only helps clinicians effectively utilize them with PWUAAC but also facilitates the development of appropriate new instruments in collaboration with PWUAAC and researchers.
