Robin Hurd

Does AAC Prevent Children from Speaking?

This month, our topic is one of the biggest myths of AAC: If you give a child an AAC system, that child will never learn to speak.

Several new parents at the AAC Parents Google Group have asked about the research on this myth, so this article will be a little more “research-y” than most. I will talk specifically about the research on speech and speech alternatives (AAC), as well as giving you references at the end of the article. My goal is to help you become familiar with the specifics of the research that refutes this myth, so that you can be a well-informed advocate for AAC.

When many of us hear the term AAC, we think immediately of computerized talking machines. But AAC can refer to a wide variety of speech alternatives: sign language, picture symbols, low tech communication boards, or a wide variety of voice output systems. It is important to keep this in mind, since some of the research we will be talking about involves types of AAC that are not voice output systems.

The first thing I want to mention is the idea of baby sign language. There are many books on the market that suggest that teaching your normally developing baby sign language very early (even though the child is not hearing impaired) will help your child to be able to communicate with you before speech develops, and will help them to develop speech faster once they are able to do so. This is based on research on hearing children of Deaf parents who see sign language from infancy. These children develop speech more quickly than children exposed to spoken English alone. (If the myth we are talking about were true, we would expect these children to have delayed speech, since they are exposed to sign language [a form of AAC] in the home.)

Daniels (1994), in “The Effect of Sign on Hearing Children’s Language”, conducted research on preschool age children in Head Start programs to see if combining the use of sign language with speech would increase the children’s language development. In this research, 2 classes had their lessons taught using spoken English alone, and 2 classes had their lessons taught using spoken English and sign language simultaneously. The teachers using sign language plus spoken English added signs for key words they wanted to emphasize and parts of the routine that would take place daily. As the children’s skill with sign language progressed, the teacher would choose to use sign language alone or combined with spoken English to communicate with the children. Children began to sign to the teacher first, and then to sign with each other, with or without speech. At the end of the study, the children who were taught with a combination of sign language and spoken English had larger English vocabularies and better language skills than the children who were taught only in spoken English.

“Simultaneously presenting words in visual, kinesic and oral ways enhances a child’s vocabulary development” was the conclusion of the study. In plain English, this means that using a variety of senses to learn language helps kids learn better. This statement is the key to effective teaching, whether the child is learning science, reading or how to use language. Children can learn in a variety of ways, and each child has a way that he or she learns best. A child can learn from what he hears, sees, touches or does. Being exposed to a variety of ways to understand something will help a child connect the information and really learn it. (For more information on learning styles, stay tuned for a future Parents’ Corner article).

What we see in the research on children using sign language (a form of AAC) has very definite carryover to the other types of AAC a child can use. Sign language combines visual and kinesthetic (body movement) senses to learn language; other forms of AAC that use pictures and/or voice output combine visual and/or auditory (sound) senses along with motor planning (body movements) to learn language.

Research that supports the use of picture symbols with middle school students is Konopac, Williams and Janpole (1991). They studied the use of symbol combinations to help students learn new vocabulary words. All of the children in the study were able to speak. When presented with picture symbols to help them remember the meaning and sound of new vocabulary words, the students did better than when they just had the word itself.

When we look at the research we see that exposing a child to AAC helps the child to learn words better, even if the child is able to speak. And this is the goal of AAC for children who are not currently able to speak, as well: to help them learn to use words.

I will finish with a quote from Berry (1987). “Parents should be told that extensive research has demonstrated that the use of non-speech communication systems does not reduce the motivation for speech communication, and in fact, seems to facilitate speech.”

The bottom line: using AAC does not keep children from speaking if they are able to, and actually helps children to learn words better.

If you have questions about this article, or anything else related to children and AAC, feel free to contact me at parents@aacinstitute.org. Your input drives this monthly column!

Note:
The attendees at the 2004 Special Interest Division on AAC Leadership Conference strongly agreed and confirmed that AAC does NOT hinder or stop speech development (Finch & Romski, 2004). Schlosser (2003) summarizes the available research studies on the issue and found that no studies support the position that AAC hinders natural speech development.

References:

Berry, J.O. (1997) Strategies for Involving Parnets in Programs for Young Children Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, vol. 3, pp. 90-93.

Daniels, M. (1994). The Effect of Sign on Hearing Children’s Language. Communication Education, vol. 43, pp. 291-298.

Konopac, B., Williams, N., and Janpole, E. (1991) Use of Mnemonic Imagery for Content Learning. Journal of Reading, Writing and Learning Disabilities International, Vol. 7 No. 4

Finch, A. & Romski, M. (2004). The Myths of AAC. Presentation at the ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) 2004 AAC Leadership Conference. Sea Island, Georgia.

Schlosser, R. (2003). Effects of AAC on Natural Speech Development. In R. Schlosser, The efficacy of augmentative and alternative communication: Toward evidence-based practice (pp. 404-426). San Diego: Academic Press.

 

As always, e-mail your comments and questions to parents@aacinsitute.org. We love to hear from you!