Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) system serves a vital role in enabling expressive and receptive communication in case of individuals with complex communication needs. In a language and culture-diverse country like India, where resources are not accessible to all families, mainstream AAC solutions are often less cost-effective and culturally mismatched. Advanced technology-based solutions sometimes fail to meet the localized needs of users. This presentation aims at explaining the process of exploring innovative, low-cost, and culturally sensitive AAC solutions, to be implemented in Indian settings, with a strong focus on customization, sustainability and accessibility.
Drawing from field experiences in hospital settings, speech therapy clinics, interaction with parents and children, this paper highlights how functional and meaningful AAC can be built using locally available materials by coordinating with caregivers and other team members, which is based on inclusive design principles. These solutions range from mechanical communication boards, laminated picture cards of different shapes, sizes and forms for different situations, to be used along with gestures and vocalization in a hybrid model, to stimulate communication. The AAC systems are made using symbols, pictures and texts as per the needs and skills of the user. For few users, various open-source mobile applications and mobile applications with regional language support is being used.
Many factors like literacy, limited access to speech-language pathologists, inconsistent electricity or internet are smaller problems than acceptance of a new alternate system other than speech through mouth. Reintroducing AAC to be an effective, successful and feasible method is essential in our country. For example, a proto-type of a low-tech system is made and used, which is 2×2 feet grid, with adjustable indicators for selection, allowing non-verbal users with limited motor control to point to symbols using head or limb movements, without losing precision or missing the target. This system is easily repairable, durable, adaptable to multiple languages and also has multiple frames with many target words and mainly affordable to make.
The presentation outlines development of low-tech and no-tech solutions in the Indian context, demonstration of some AAC systems, and discuss few case studies as examples. This also provides practical guidelines for AAC practitioners in India and other similar developing and underdeveloped countries.
The presentation concludes on how inclusive innovation by coordinating with parents and caregivers can bridge the digital divide and motivate for better communication. It emphasizes on constant communication with the clinician for every step towards establishing communication process. This also will help in generalized use of similar strategies in different languages.
Accessible Summary:
* Enhancing parents’ understanding the communication need and abilities of their child (case studies)
* Create or customize a low-tech/no-tech effective communicative method (example of an ongoing project on Indian languages)
* Motivate the child and parents to use AAC for communication
