Developing literacy skills is a complex process that rests on the fluent integration of knowledge and skills across a wide range of domains, including, for example, language skills, background knowledge, phonological awareness skills, letter sound correspondences, decoding, and sight word recognition.
Learning to read written text is facilitated by the integration of:
- orthographic processing (i.e., knowledge of letters and letter patterns);
- phonological processing (i.e., identification, manipulation, and memory of the sound structure of speech);
- meaning processing (i.e., knowledge of words and their meanings); and
- contextual processing (i.e., use of background knowledge to derive meaning from text) (e.g., Adams, 1994).
The T2L features supports for sight word reading and include the following:
(a) the dynamic smooth animation of text (upon selection of a graphic symbol from the AAC display), using motion to draw visual attention to the text (cf. Jagaroo & Wilkinson, 2008) and to support orthographic processing;
(b) origination of the text from the graphic symbol to support the association of the symbol and the text and thereby support understanding of the meaning of the text;
(c) replacement of the graphic symbol by the text to make the word salient and mitigate the difficulties that may arise from static pairing of graphic symbols and text (cf. Erikson et al., 2010);
(d) pairing of the speech output with the appearance of the written word on the screen to support phonological processing of the text; and,
(e) targeting of sight words for the symbols within the learner’s AAC system to ensure that concepts are known thus supporting the association of meaning with the text.
The broad context provided by the AAC display and the communication situation may also support learning. The exposure to text is infused into the individual’s AAC system, thus ensuring that literacy learning is driven by the individual’s interests and needs (Light & McNaughton, 2009).
Through research and development partnerships with the RERC on AAC, T2L sight word approach is now supported in three commercially available software apps
GoVisual, available from the Attainment company
Scene and Heard Pro , available from Therapy Box
Snap Scene, available from Tobii-Dynavox
Published Research
Mandak, K., Light, J., & McNaughton, D. (2020). Video visual scene displays with dynamic text: Effect on single-word reading by an adolescent with cerebral palsy. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 5(5), 1272–1281. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_PERSP-20-00068
Mandak, K., Light, J., & McNaughton, D. (2018). Digital books with dynamic text and speech output: Effects on sight word reading for preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s10803-018-3817-1 (Free view only)
Caron, J., Light, J., Holyfield, C., & McNaughton, D. (2018).Effects of dynamic text in an AAC app on sight word reading for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 34, 143-154.
Caron, J., Light, J., & McNaughton, D. (2020). Effects of an AAC App with Transition to Literacy Features on Single-Word Reading of Individuals with Complex Communication Needs. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, Advanced Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1540796920911152
References
Adams, M. J. (1994). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. MIT press.
Erickson, K. A., Hatch, P., & Clendon, S. (2010). Literacy, assistive technology, and students with significant disabilities. Focus on Exceptional Children, 42(5), 1-16.
Jagaroo, V., & Wilkinson, K. (2008). Further considerations of visual cognitive neuroscience in aided AAC: The potential role of motion perception systems in maximizing design display. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 24, 29-42.
Light, J., & McNaughton, D. (2009). Addressing the literacy demands of the curriculum for conventional and more advanced readers and writers who require AAC. In Zangari, C., & Soto, G. (Eds) Practically speaking: Language, literacy, and academic development for students with AAC needs, 217-246. Brookes Publishing.
Cite as: Light, J., McNaughton, D., Jakobs, T., & Hershberger, D. (2014). Investigating AAC technologies to support the transition from graphic symbols to literacy. RERC on AAC: Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Retrieved from https://aac-learning-center.psu.edu/educational-resources/transition-to-literacy-t2l-sight-word/
Last updated: October 14, 2024