The use of Assistive Technology with Individuals who have a Language Impairment
what is a Language Impairment?
An impaired comprehension and/or use of spoken, written, and/or other symbols systems. The disorder may involve the form of language, the content of language and/or the function of language in communication in any combination
If a child has the diagnosis of a language impairment, there are two different categories that the child can be identified under.
- The first category is a receptive language disorder, this is when the child is not being able to understand the content and the function of what is being said to them.
- The second category is an expressive language disorder, this is when the child has a hard time expressing language during communication because they have a limited vocabulary.
Kids with language impairments can be faced with a variety of symptoms, based on their specific diagnosis. Some disabilities have a side effect of a language impairment include:
- Autism
- Down Syndrome
- Cerebral Palsy
Accommodations for kids with Language Impairments:
- Speech – language pathologist, or a SLP- . A SLP is a person who evaluates and provides therapeutic services to children with speech/language impairments to help them reach their full, communication potential.
- Assistive Technology- "The terms assistive device or assistive technology can refer to any device that helps a person with hearing loss or a voice, speech, or language disorder to communicate. These terms often refer to devices that help a person to hear and understand what is being said more clearly or to express thoughts more easily. With the development of digital and wireless technologies, more and more devices are becoming available to help people with hearing, voice, speech, and language disorders communicate more meaningfully and participate more fully in their daily lives." (National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders, 2017)
- Assistive Technology can be aided or unaided
- Examples of unaided Assistive Technology could be those that do not involve having an aid or a device – or, those that rely solely on oral speech, gestures, facial expressions, general body posture and manual signs.
- Examples of Aided Assistive Technology: Aided Assistive Technology involve having a device or a piece of electric equipment
- Assistive Technology can be no- tech, low- tech or high-tech
- no-tech: A ‘no tech’ technique means using a piece of paper and a pencil
- low- tech: Meaning the child can push a switch to transmit a single word or phrase
- high-tech: Electronic equipment/ computerized voice-output device (see keyboard below)
An example of a high tech AAC accommodation was in Autism is a World with Sue Rubin. The focus of this movie was about a girl named Sue who was diagnosed with autism when she was younger. All her life she was looked at as someone that she knew she wasn’t she would always be banging her head and making every situation turn into a crisis. Sue was not able to communicate until she was thirteen, when she was given her facilitated keyboard. A facilitated keyboard is a form of an aided AAC which she is given a keyboard and is able to fully express her communicating through typing and either having her caregiver read it out loud for her of pressing specific button and having her caregiver read the sentence out loud for her. This accommodation completely changed Sue’s life for the better. Once sue was finally given the chance to be able to communicate she stated that “As I began to type, my mind began to wake up” (Autism Is a World, 2004). Her friends and family could finally discover how funny, smart, outgoing and functioning she was. With the help of the keyboard, Sue’s IQ score increased from a 29 IQ to a 133.
Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a form of the low tech for alternative communication. The PEC allows kids with expressive language impairment users to communicate their thoughts and needs without moving on to other aspects of language (for example, lessons on vocabulary). PECS consists of using a set of pictures to form sentences or messages to others. PECS is taught into 6 phases; the child starts by placing pictures into the caregiver or parent’s hand working their way to make comments and having more distance between the caregiver and the child. (Heward, 2013, p.302)
Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a form of the low tech for alternative communication. The PEC allows kids with expressive language impairment users to communicate their thoughts and needs without moving on to other aspects of language (for example, lessons on vocabulary). PECS consists of using a set of pictures to form sentences or messages to others. PECS is taught into 6 phases; the child starts by placing pictures into the caregiver or parent’s hand working their way to make comments and having more distance between the caregiver and the child. (Heward, 2013, p.302)