Simultaneously Training Two AAC Systems: Evaluation on Acquisition and Preference

Abstract

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems provide individuals without speech, or with limited speech, a way to functionally communicate. Current practitioner recommendations emphasize the value of multimodal communication, yet limited research exists on teaching two AAC systems simultaneously. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of simultaneously teaching two AAC systems, picture exchange (PE) and the activation of a speech generating device (SGD), to preschoolers with autism. Using a concurrent multiple probe across participants design with embedded adapted alternating treatment designs, we evaluated the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) instructional protocol for teaching each modality and assessed: (a) participants’ rate of acquisition, (b) preference of modality, (c) occurrence or emergence of vocalizations, and (d) maintenance of each modality. Researchers found that three of the four participants reached mastery criteria for PE and SGD during simultaneous training at similar rates of acquisition and preference varied across participants and across PECS phases.