Transparency of three communication symbol systems.

Area of Science:

• Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
• Symbolic Communication Systems
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Effective communication is crucial for individuals with speech impairments.
• Various symbol systems exist to aid communication, each with unique design principles.
• Understanding symbol transparency (guessability) is key to efficient symbol learning and use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate and compare the transparency of three prominent symbol systems: Blissymbols, Picsyms, and Rebus.
• To assess how symbol transparency varies across different age groups.
• To determine if symbol transparency influences learning and developmental progression.

Main Methods:

• A forced-choice identification task was employed to measure symbol transparency.
• Participants across four age groups were tested on Word, Phrase, and Sentence subtests.
• Performance was analyzed based on symbol system and chronological age.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in transparency were observed between the symbol systems.
• Picsyms and Rebus symbols demonstrated higher transparency than Blissymbols across all age groups.
• A developmental progression in symbol understanding was noted for Picsyms and Rebus, but not for Blissymbols.

Conclusions:

• Symbol transparency is a critical factor that differentiates communication symbol systems.
• Blissymbols exhibit lower transparency compared to Picsyms and Rebus.
• The findings suggest Picsyms and Rebus may offer more intuitive symbol learning, particularly with age-related development.