From Efficacy to Implementation: Video Visual Scene Displays to Support Community Participation and Communication for Adults Who Need AAC

Abstract

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) who require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) continue to experience substantial barriers to employment, community participation, and independent living (Koloni, 2025; McNaughton et al., 2025). Although video modeling has demonstrated promise for teaching community and vocational skills, traditional approaches rarely address the communication demands embedded within everyday activities. Video Visual Scene Displays (video VSDs) were developed to address this gap by integrating video modeling with AAC supports, allowing users to receive step-by-step participation assistance while simultaneously supporting context-specific communication through embedded speech-output hotspots (Babb et al., 2019, 2020; Light et al., 2015, 2019).

This presentation will share the findings from three complementary studies evaluating video VSD intervention for adults and adolescents who need or use AAC. Together, these studies document efficacy of video VSD interventions, as well as the instructional procedures used to support community partners in developing and delivering video VSD interventions in real-world settings.

Study 1 evaluated the effectiveness of video VSD intervention with autistic adolescents and young adults (n=17) who required participation and communication supports. The intervention addressed individually selected vocational, community, and/or social activities in authentic environments.  A randomized switching-replications design was used to investigate the impact of the video VSD intervention. Results demonstrated substantial improvements by participants in the independent completion of participation and communication steps following only two instructional sessions in the use of video VSDs. Gains were maintained over time, and accompanied by strong evidence of social and ecological validity with both autistic participants and community partners. Importantly, the intervention was effective across a diverse range of community contexts, suggesting that video VSDs can provide integrated support for both activity participation and communication while reducing dependence on step-by-step prompting in a variety of activities.

Study 2 provides a replication of Study 1 with adults and adolescents with intellectual/developmental disabilities (n=16) who required AAC. This study used the same intervention framework as Study 1 to determine whether the benefits observed with autistic participants generalized across disability populations. As in Study 1, participants demonstrated strong gains in targeted activities following the introduction of the video VSD intervention.

The final portion of the session will focus on Study 3, which addressed a key aspect of ecological validity: who delivers the intervention. Whereas the first two studies employed experienced clinical researchers, Study 3 evaluated whether family members, job coaches, and community professionals (n=24) could successfully create and implement video VSD interventions after completing an online training program. This implementation study examined facilitator fidelity to the video VSD development and delivery protocol, the impact of the video VSD intervention for the individual who needed/used AAC, and the feasibility of disseminating video VSD intervention by typical communication partners.

We will discuss the implications of this coordinated program of research for AAC intervention, transition services, and employment supports. By integrating participation supports with communication supports within a single technology, video VSDs represent a practical approach to promoting greater independence, meaningful participation, and communication access in everyday community life.

Babb, S., Gormley, J., McNaughton, D., & Light, J. (2019). Enhancing independent participation within vocational activities for an adolescent with ASD using AAC video visual scene displays. Journal of Special Education Technology, 34(2), 120–132. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162643418795842

Babb, S., McNaughton, D., Light, J., Caron, J., Wydner, K., & Jung, S. (2020). Using AAC video visual scene displays to increase participation and communication within a volunteer activity for adolescents with complex communication needs. AAC: Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 36(1), 31–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/07434618.2020.1737966

Koloni, R. (2025). To include us in our own worlds: AAC is not optional. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 41(3), 226–229. https://doi.org/10.1080/07434618.2025.2515283

Light, J., McNaughton, D., & Caron, J. (2019). New and emerging AAC technology supports for children with complex communication needs and their communication partners: State of the science and future research directions. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 35(1), 26–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/07434618.2018.1557251

Light, J., McNaughton, D., & Jakobs, T. (2015, February 9). Developing AAC technology to support interactive video visual scene displays. Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Augmentative and Alternative Communication. https://rerc-aac.psu.edu/development/d2-developing-aac-technology-to-support-interactive-video-visual-scene-displays/

McNaughton, D., Rackensperger, T., & McLemore, L. (2025). Supporting meaningful participation in society by adults with developmental disabilities who need and use AAC: Lived experiences, key research findings, and future directions. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 41(3), 250–263. https://doi.org/10.1080/07434618.2025.2504497