The assessment of the applications (App) in support of Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) for people with complex communication needs
Cristina Flosi, Matilde Pieri
The current, increasingly rapid, technological development offers new and remarkable supporting possibilities, within the field of educational and rehabilitative intervention, for people with serious communication impairments in all age ranges. However, choosing among types of applications software (App), which are useful to satisfy complex communication needs and to promote participation in everyday life, is far from easy. Indeed, this choice requires instruments that successfully keep up with the continuous update of knowledge within this ambit, through both a specific and multidisciplinary clinical approach. Speech and Language Therapists, working with Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC), have the impending need to identify the instruments suitable for defining the pertinence of existing applications, in order to assess their actual compatibility with a wide range of communication needs and personal and contextual variables. The aim of this study is to introduce to Colleagues an array of instruments planned with this goal.
Keywords
Assessment, Application Software, Augmentative Alternative Communication.