Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is a core component of special education for many children with learning disabilities and/or autism who have minimal or no speech. Much literature focuses on implementation of AAC in the classroom or therapy setting, but less is known about how AAC is used in the family home. Few studies are authored by an AAC parent/researcher with reflection on positionality, power and the advantages conferred by ‘insider’ status. This paper addresses this gap by exploring the perspectives of five families of minimally verbal children on the place of AAC in their child’s home communication. Semi-structured family interviews were transcribed and subjected to Thematic Analysis. Formal AAC practices such as Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and Makaton were found to play a limited role in the children’s home communication. Findings indicate three possible explanations: the emotional and relationship-building dimensions of family communication; the competing priorities of family life with a disabled child; and the child’s existing multimodal communication strategies including the use of household objects. These findings offer a preliminary starting point for understanding the emic perspectives of AAC families and reasons for their convergence/divergence with professional attitudes to AAC, and warrant further investigation in larger-scale studies.

中文翻译：

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重新思考家庭（dis）参与与增强和替代沟通

增强和替代性交流 (AAC) 是特殊教育的核心组成部分，适用于许多有学习障碍和/或自闭症的儿童，他们很少或没有语言。许多文献侧重于在课堂或治疗环境中实施 AAC，但对家庭住宅中如何使用 AAC 知之甚少。很少有研究是由 AAC 的父母/研究人员撰写的，对地位、权力和“内部人员”地位赋予的优势进行反思。本文通过探讨五个语言能力最低的儿童家庭对 AAC 在其孩子家庭交流中的位置的看法来弥补这一差距。半结构化的家庭访谈被转录并进行主题分析。正式的 AAC 实践，如图片交换通信系统 (PECS) 和 Makaton，被发现在儿童的家庭交流中发挥的作用有限。研究结果表明了三种可能的解释：家庭沟通的情感和建立关系的维度；有残疾儿童的家庭生活的优先事项；以及儿童现有的多模式交流策略，包括使用家居用品。这些发现为理解 AAC 家族的主位观点及其与对 AAC 的专业态度趋同/分歧的原因提供了初步起点，并值得在更大规模的研究中进行进一步调查。有残疾儿童的家庭生活的优先事项；以及儿童现有的多模式交流策略，包括使用家居用品。这些发现为理解 AAC 家族的主位观点及其与 AAC 专业态度趋同/分歧的原因提供了初步起点，并值得在更大规模的研究中进行进一步调查。有残疾儿童的家庭生活的优先事项；以及儿童现有的多模式交流策略，包括使用家居用品。这些发现为理解 AAC 家族的主位观点及其与对 AAC 的专业态度趋同/分歧的原因提供了初步起点，并值得在更大规模的研究中进行进一步调查。