21st Annual Student Research Conference
Giving a Child a Voice: Boardmaker Activity Pad Explorations
Patricia L. Siemann*, Erin L. Thomas, Lauren M. Williams, Susan R. Eberly, Caitlin M. DuHadway, Megan E. Petry, Abigail T. Wecke, and Alafiya S. Nasrulla
Dr. Paula Cochran, Faculty Mentor
This project was undertaken by a volunteer team of undergraduate communication disorders majors. The purpose of this project was to explore the use of a small voice output device (Boardmaker Activity Pad) with a preschool child who had minimal speech. Video recordings were made of the child during interactions with a student clinician in the Truman State University Speech and Hearing Clinic. Communication attempts of all kinds (e.g., vocalizations, pointing) were coded using a protocol developed by the team. At mid-semester, the talking touch tablet was introduced in a book activity. Buttons on the tablet coordinated with important targets in the storybook (e.g., "Where is it?"). The child could "say" these targets by pressing a button. Results suggested that the presence of the device changed the communication behaviors produced by the child. The Boardmaker Activity Pad (2005) will be demonstrated at this presentation.
Keywords: communication disorders, voice output device, non-verbal communication, augmentative communication, language therapy, AAC
Topic(s):Communication Disorders
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 6-1
Location: OP Lobby
Time: 4:15