EFFECTS OF VOICE OUTPUT AND DOSE ON AUGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION TREATMENT FOR PEOPLE WITH APHASIAChen, Szu-Han Kay (2016) EFFECTS OF VOICE OUTPUT AND DOSE ON AUGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION TREATMENT FOR PEOPLE WITH APHASIA. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished)
AbstractIntroduction: Aphasia frequently occurs after a stroke and may become a chronic communication/language disorder. Not all people with aphasia (PWA) fully recover to their premorbid language functioning. Many will face life-long communication difficulties impacting their quality of life. Despite Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) intervention being used to improve the language and communication functioning for PWA, the effects of AAC intervention are obscured, because many variables, such as voice output and treatment dose, have not been investigated systematically. Method: This dissertation includes a pair of studies that aim to determine the effects of two voice outputs (synthesized voice vs. human voice) and doses of computerized AAC training on naming performance with able-bodied individuals and PWA. The dissertation uses a single-subject combined 2 by 2 factorial design to investigate the impact of the two variables. A mixed model trajectory analysis (MMTA) is used to evaluate how single variables affect the treatment outcomes. Pre-and-Post standardized assessments are used for evaluating the outcomes. Results: The results indicate that both able-bodied people and PWA learned to name words under the synthesized and human voice conditions using an AAC system. Overall, people learned better with human voice than synthesized voice. Both groups learned to name pictures by exposure only. The results also show that adding one self-paced practice in the same session did not facilitate improvement of able-bodied individuals’ performance. Additionally, the results show the performance of PWA is varied both within participant and across participants. All participants were satisfied with the training program. Conclusion: This dissertation is the first study to test voice output and treatment dose as AAC intervention variables for PWA. Evidence supporting the value of voice output features in AAC intervention was found that may facilitate the naming skills of PWA. It also demonstrates MMTA, as an innovative way to evaluate the effects of an individual variable at the personal-level and group-level in AAC aphasia intervention. Future AAC studies can draw upon the findings to systematically investigate the numerous variables of AAC technology and treatment that are effective in improving language and communication performance. Share
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