Perceived Impact of Person-Centred Technology-Based AAC for Adults with ASD

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) technology has potential to improve wellbeing and communication access for non-verbal and semi-verbal autistic adults, but most research, design, and provision focuses on non-verbal autistic children. There is a gap in the literature, in relation to the impact that person-centred approaches of AAC can have on adults with autism. This study aimed to determine whether technology enabled AAC impacts these adults in relation to perceived well-being and interaction with AAC devices, when compared with traditional unaided AAC methods. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 11 participants from autism day services. No significant difference was found in relation to their perceived overall wellbeing of service users between traditional AAC and speech generating devices. Familiarity with the AAC method was a key theme in this research, for both staff and service users. Future practical implications, strengths and limitations are discussed.