Use of an intelligent tutoring system for a curriculum on augmentative and alternative communication: Feasibility for implementation.

BACKGROUND: Over 8 million children with disabilities live in Africa and are candidates for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), yet formal training for team members, such as speech-language therapists and special education teachers, is extremely limited. Only one university on the continent provides postgraduate degrees in AAC, and other institutions provide only short modules at an undergraduate level. The need for an introductory training course on AAC that is accessible by university students continent-wide was identified. An online programme, namely an intelligent tutoring system (ITS), was identified as a possible option to facilitate interactive learning without the need for synchronous teaching. The use of an ITS is shown to be effective in developing knowledge and clinical reasoning in the health and rehabilitation fields. However, it has not yet been applied to student teaching in the field of AAC. AIM: To determine both the feasibility of an ITS to implement an AAC curriculum for students in four African countries, and the usability and effectiveness of such a system as a mechanism for learning about AAC. METHOD & PROCEDURES: The study included two components: the development of a valid AAC curriculum; and using the ITS to test the effectiveness of implementation in a pre- and post-test design with 98 speech-language therapy and special education students from five universities. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were obtained between pre- and post-test assessments. Students perceived the learning experience as practical, with rich content. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: The findings suggest that the ITS-based AAC curriculum was positively perceived by the students and potentially offers an effective means of providing supplementary AAC training to students, although modifications to the system are still required. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject Professionals typically lack formal training in AAC. In Africa, this presents a serious challenge as there are over 8 million children who are candidates for AAC. A need for an introductory training course on AAC, which can be accessed by university students continent-wide, was identified. What this paper adds to existing knowledge An AAC curriculum was developed and integrated into an ITS, an online programme allowing interactive learning through asynchronous teaching. Students from four African countries completed the AAC ITS curriculum. The curriculum was positively received by the students and statistically significant changes in knowledge were identified. What are the practical and clinical implications of this work? This feasibility study shows that the use of an ITS is an effective means of providing AAC training to university students in these African countries. The results provide a valuable contribution toward ensuring the equitable distribution of AAC training opportunities in the African context. This will have a significant positive impact on those who are candidates for AAC.

The effect of AAC training programs on professionals' knowledge, skills and self-efficacy in AAC: a scoping review.

Since effective and successful AAC service delivery relies on the knowledge and competence of professionals in the field of AAC, sufficient training in AAC will equip professionals to provide quality AAC service delivery. However, many professionals lack training in AAC and structured opportunities for professional development are sorely needed. As there is no consensus on the amount, mode of delivery and content of AAC training, the purpose of this scoping review was to identify AAC training programs for professional development and to describe the characteristics and effects of such programs. A five-pronged search strategy was used to identify relevant studies. The certainty framework was used to appraise the quality of included studies. Charted data included general study characteristics; participant characteristics; training characteristics (i.e., training goals; instructional materials and strategies; training duration); quality appraisal; and reported effects of the training. The scoping review identified 34 studies for inclusion. The results showed the potential of AAC training programs for continuous professional development to increase professionals' skills in AAC intervention. A range of training characteristics was identified to guide the development of future training programs. Gaps in the research related to the training of AAC professionals were also identified to guide future research.

The effects of augmentative and alternative communication interventions on the receptive language skills of children with developmental disabilities: A scoping review.

PURPOSE: To map and synthesise research evidence of the effects that aided and unaided AAC interventions have on the receptive language of children with developmental disabilities. METHOD: This scoping review used a four-pronged search strategy (electronic databases, dissertations and theses, hand search, ancestry searches) to identify germane studies. A total of 16 studies met the inclusion criteria. These studies were described in terms of the number of participants, participant characteristics, research design, AAC interventions, intervention outcomes, intervention effects, and quality appraisal. RESULT: The review revealed positive associations between aided and unaided AAC, vocabulary acquisition and symbol comprehension. CONCLUSION: AAC interventions may have merit for the development of receptive language skills in children with developmental disabilities. Specific gaps in relation to unaided AAC, aided augmented input strategies, morphological and syntax development, and discourse comprehension are highlighted.