Effects of an AAC feature on decoding and encoding skills of adults with Down syndrome (Holyfield et al., 2023)

Background

Literacy skills can assist in the navigation and enjoyment of adult life. For individuals who have
reached adulthood without strong literacy skills, opportunities for continued literacy learning are few.
Redesigning AAC technologies to support literacy skill development could extend literacy learning
opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities who have limited speech. Acquisition of literacy skills is a complex process that requires the integration of knowledge and skills across a range of domains.

Current Study
The current preliminary study evaluated an AAC technology feature designed to support literacy development. The study used a multiple probe across participants design. Three adults with Down syndrome who had limited speech and only basic decoding skills participated.

Results
Results suggest the participants made modest gains in decoding accuracy after interacting using the AAC app with the literacy supportive feature, though performance was highly variable. Results also offer emerging evidence that, for two participants, some generalization to encoding performance may have also been achieved. Results showed that, for all the participants, interacting using the literacy supportive feature increased their reading confidence.

Findings
Altogether, the study’s results show preliminary evidence that the feature can support adults with Down syndrome in their ongoing literacy learning, though access to formal instruction is still critical. Future research is needed to continue to explore this and other AAC technology redesigns to increase learning opportunities for the people who use the technology every day to communicate.

The current study offers preliminary evidence that integrating a feature that models decoding into an AAC app can support adults with Down syndrome in decoding novel words.

Holyfield et al., 2023