Towards a narrative-based augmentative communication system.

Augmentative communication systems enable non-speaking people to communicate using letters, words, phrases and sentences. Few systems provide support for longer lengths of text despite the fact that most day-to-day conversation is characterised by 'story telling'. This paper discusses the need for communication systems to facilitate this type of interaction, whilst allowing for other modes of communication. A case history detailing the use of a prototype system with an adult with dysphasia illustrates that providing augmentative communication should not be restricted to expression of 'needs and wants', but should enable the non-speaking individual to share past experience and future hopes.

Developing AAC technologies: a personal story and philosophy.

Research into and development of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technologies is an exciting but complex field. The development of a technologically based system which will be an alternative to, or will augment, the speech modality for the interpersonal communication needs of people with communication dysfunction is not an easy task. This is only a young field and thus much of the research methodology is not yet well defined. It is also a growing field, and one to which we would wish to attract new practitioners, and provide appropriate guidance to them. In any technological development project, it is important to define clearly a number of parameters of the project. These are: the client group; the knowledge base needed to solve the problems; the potential technologies that will help and their characteristics; and the time scales envisaged for completion of the research. The authors have been part of a research team working in this field for many years, and, in this paper, they will examine three research strategies which they have found particularly beneficial, illustrating the concepts discussed mainly by reference to personal experiences. The paper concentrates on a relatively narrow definition of technology-that which is often referred to as 'high technology' or information technology. This is not to deny, in any way, the importance to the AAC field of solutions based on other technology, and the authors would hope that some of the comments in the paper are also appropriate to researchers who are working with systems and techniques which do not depend on these technologies.

A survey of the communication-impaired population of Tayside.

There are few published surveys that are designed specifically to describe the total population of clients with communication disorders who might potentially benefit from the use of a communication aid. Such data, however, would be useful in planning the funding and staffing of rehabilitation services in a region. Figures are also needed to identify populations whose needs are currently not being met and thus to establish areas of future developments both for service and research purposes. The survey reported here was carried out as part of a project concerned with the provision of augmentative communication to the neurologically impaired child and young adult. It was intended to produce a broad description of the communication-impaired population in Tayside. The survey was then used to identify detailed information about clients who may benefit from using a communication aid, and it also highlighted some provision and research issues. Access to communication aids for the non-speaking population was found to have been restricted by lack of funding, resources and opportunities for training for therapists in the use of augmentative and alternative communication. Future research and development should particularly address the needs of the aphasic population whose needs were not found to be met by currently available communication aids.

The therapeutic applications of computerised games.

Microcomputers have great potential in therapeutic environments, but, if they are to achieve this potential, they need appropriate software (programs). This paper examines the ideas behind games software and the relevance of commercially available software to therapy. It recommends that specially designed programs are needed and lays down some guidelines for the design and development of such software.

Operator error performance and keyboard evaluation in Palantype machine shorthand.

The output of a Palantype shorthand machine can be processed and displayed electronically to provide a simultaneous transcript of speech for the deaf. Operator errors have been identified as the most important factor limiting the legibility of the output text. Tests performed on Palantype machines have shown that large variations in error performance can result from mechanical differences between machines and from maladjustment of the switches fitted to them. Keyboards using commercially available keyswitches have therefore been designed to replace the Palantype machine itself as an input device for this application and hence to minimise operator errors. This paper discusses the design features of a replacement keyboard and presents the results of a series of experiments to compare the performance of three possible keyboards with both 'good' and 'poor' examples of conventional mechanical Palantype machine with electrical switches fitted.

A comparison of palantype and stenograph for use in a speech transcription aid for the deaf.

In spite of considerable reasearch over many years in the field of automatic speech recognition (Underwood, 1977), practical devices capable of recognising unrestricted speech remain as science fiction rather than fact. Simultaneous display of speech as an aid for the deaf has however, been accomplished using manual data input devices (Newell and King, 1977; Newell, 1978; Downton and Newell; Fox et al, 1975; Hayward, 1978). In this application shorthand typing machines have been used, because only they can keep pace with speech (Seibel, 1964). Two possible machines are currently available for English Transcriptions; the Palantype (a British device) and the Stenograph (an American device). They are both based on the same fundamental principles, but differ mechanically and in the typing conventions they use. These differences suggest that one machine may be superior to the other as an input device for an aid for the deaf. This paper compares the two shorthand systems with a view to their potential use in a system providing a simultaneous transcript of speech for the deaf.