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Speech-Generating Devices for Communication and Social Development

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Assistive Technology

Part of the book series: Autism and Child Psychopathology Series ((ACPS))

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Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of studies on using speech-generating devices (SGDs) to improve the communication and social functioning of persons with severe/profound and multiple disabilities. The studies are divided into four groups based on the pragmatic function of the communication responses targeted for improvement. The first group concerns studies that targeted the requesting function. The second group concerns studies on teaching communicative rejecting. The third group consists of studies on developing more socially oriented forms of communication, such as recruiting social interaction and/or initiating conversation. The fourth group includes studies aimed at reducing problem behaviors by teaching functional use of SGDs. The final part of this chapter analyzes the outcomes of the studies reviewed, considers the implications of these findings for overall communication and social development, and highlights directions for future research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari, Bari, Italy

    Giulio E. Lancioni

  2. School of Educational Psychology & Pedagogy, Victoria University of Wellington, Karori Campus, Wellington, New Zealand

    Jeff Sigafoos

  3. Department of Special Education, University of Texas at Austin The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, Austin, TX, USA

    Mark F. O’Reilly

  4. American Health and Wellness Institute, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Nirbhay N. Singh

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  1. Giulio E. Lancioni
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  4. Nirbhay N. Singh
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Lancioni, G.E., Sigafoos, J., O’Reilly, M.F., Singh, N.N. (2013). Speech-Generating Devices for Communication and Social Development. In: Assistive Technology. Autism and Child Psychopathology Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4229-5_3

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