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Constituent order in picture pointing sequences produced by speaking children using AAC

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Ann E. Sutton and
Jill P. Morford
Ann E. Sutton*
Affiliation:
McGill University
Jill P. Morford
Affiliation:
University of New Mexico
*
Mackay Center, 3500 Boulevard Decarie, Montreal, Quebec H4A 3J5, Canada. Email: asutton@mackayctr.org
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Abstract

Children using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) picture boards often produce sequences of symbols that do not reflect the grammatical structure of the language spoken in their environment. These irregularities may reflect an incomplete or incorrect representation of linguistic structure. Alternatively, they may simply be the result of constraints on the communication mode itself. This study examined constituent order and deletion in picture board communication in children who are known to have intact linguistic knowledge (i.e., normally developing native speakers of English). The results suggest that English syntactic knowledge is not automatically applied to picture board communication. Additional skills may be required to transpose linguistic knowledge into the visual-graphic modality used in AAC systems. Moreover, the regularity of non-English responses suggests that there is a bias for specific structures in visual communication systems.

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Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , October 1998, pp. 525 - 536
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998

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