This project investigated the communication of four children with autism spectrum disorders, who used a speech-generating device (SGD) in one or two selected activities in their home environment. The children were between five and seven years of age. The conversational topics introduced by the children and their parents were analyzed. The introduction of the SGD increased conversational interaction, as measured by topic length, for all children in five of the six activities studied. The analysis of topics showed that conversation within the “ongoing activity” increased and that the irrelevant speech used by the two more verbal children was reduced with access to the SGD.

Undersökningar visar att det i dag finns ca 200 000 individer i Sverige som lider av någon form av kognitiv funktionsstörning. Det är en mycket blandad grupp med olika behov men det finns även många gemensamma nämnare. En nedsatt kognitiv förmåga kan visa sig i form av problem att ta initiativ, planera och organisera en struktur i vardagen. Det kan bl a röra sig om individer med förvärvade hjärnskador, ADHD, Aspergers syndrom, DAMP och andra neurologiska, psykiska och neuropsykiatriska sjukdomar. Individer med dyslexi, som vanligtvis inte kategoriseras in under kognitiva funktionshinder har även många liknande behov. Det är viktigt att kontinuerligt fokusera på rehabilitering och på att kognitiva hjälp-medel i form av hjälpsystem utvecklas och förfinas. Denna studie undersöker forsknings-rapporter som berör kognitiva funktionshinder i korrelation med teknologiska hjälpmedel. Genomgången visar att det befintliga assisterande IT-systemet e-Me som i nuläge samordnar, organiserar och hanterar IT-resurser för studenter kan utvecklas och anpassas efter de behov som individer med kognitiva funktionshinder har. Rapporten fokuserar främst funktioner inom studier och arbetsliv, men inkluderar även fritid eftersom tekniska hjälpmedel för kognitivt funktionshindrade på ett naturligt sätt bidrar till en helhetslösning som underlättar vardagen. Intervjuer med funktionshindrade stöder de iakttagelser som rapporten redovisar.

Three children diagnosed within the autism spectrum between the ages of 5 and 7 years at different stages of communication development were supplied with speech-generating devices (SGDs) in their homes. The parents were taught to introduce the SGDs into home routines and the effects were evaluated naturalistically. Videotapes recorded by the parents before and during SGD use were coded with respect to communication effectiveness, mode, role in turn taking, and engagement in activity. Findings varied among the children and activities, but an increased level of communication effectiveness was seen during SGD use for all children. Variations of outcome among the three children and factors of importance for effective SGD use in the homes of children with autism spectrum disorders are discussed.

Communicative feedback refers to unobtrusive (usually short) vocal or bodily expressions whereby a recipient of information can inform a contributor of information about whether he/she is able and willing to communicate, perceive the information, and understand the information. This paper provides a theory for embodied communicative feedback, describing the different dimensions and features involved. It also provides a corpus analysis part, describing a first data coding and analysis method geared to find the features postulated by the theory. The corpus analysis part describes different methods and statistical procedures and discusses their applicability and the possible insights gained with these methods.