Augmentative and alternative communication: from qualification to speech, language and hearing science clinical practice

Abstract

ABSTRACT Purpose: to investigate the qualification of the speech language and hearing therapists and their clinical performance with Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Methods: a descriptive, transversal, individual and contemporary study. Data were collected through a questionnaire, filled by twenty-four speech therapists, selected by a convenience sample. Content analysis was chosen for data study. Results: regarding access to the information media, all speech therapists in the sample presented the initiative to supply the absence of language training with Augmentative and Alternative Communication by different means. Regarding the dual focus on intervention, all speech therapists were favorable to this practice. However, according to experience, they reported resistance from the family, school and other therapists. The results showed two different types of introduction implementation and use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication, predominantly formed by strategies contemplating the pragmatic use of language through the contextualization of significant activities for the user. The other way used the Picture Exchange Communication System. Conclusion: the speech-language and hearing therapists in the present study inserted different interlocutors in the intervention, guided by implicit or explicit linguistic principles, by theoretical frameworks specific to the area of Augmentative and Alternative Communication knowledge, by global neuromotor elements and, finally, by principles of functionality and general wellness.