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Review of Engineering Training Environments for Interactive Augmentative Communication

Book Title: Engineering Training Environments for Interactive Augmentative Communication

Publisher: Mayer-Johnson Co.

Buy Online: No longer in print

Reviewed by: Stephanie Williams, Speech Language Pathologist, DynaVox Systems, USA

Description: Guidelines for implementing augmentative communication training are provided in this invaluable 280-page resource book. The book is geared for adolescents in public schools or adults in post-school training environments. Clear steps describe living, vocational training, leisure/recreational, and community-living activities.

Interactive augmentative communication is established through a series of phases of identifying and prioritising activities, generating interactive scripts, creating communication overlays, making overlays and devices readily accessible, and training spontaneous, interactive communication. Innovative information regarding the development of scripts, the selection of single-meaning versus multi-meaning symbols, and the design of activity-based overlays and supplemental symbols is included.

Target Audience: adolescents and adults with developmental delays

Supplemental Materials Included:

• Listing of activities conducive to interactive scripts.
  
• Script composition worksheet.
  
• Step-by-step instructions for implementing strategies that encourage interactive communication.

DynaVox 3100 Applications:

• Engineering Dynamic Displays language application contains pages centred around basic life routines, and includes the vocabulary that makes it possible to communicate on the job, with caregivers or out in the community. Engineering Dynamic Displays is currently available for use with DynaVox 3100 and DynaMyte 3100 only.
  
• Gateway 30 is designed for adolescents and adults with developmental delays. The vocabulary within this page set is functionally based and reflects many of the activities of daily living. To access Gateway 30 on your DynaVox Series 4 device:
  
  1. Select the pull-down menu.
     
  2. Select Setup.
     
  3. Select Page Navigator.
     
  4. Select the Gateway 30 directory in the left viewport.
     
  5. Select the GATEWAY 30 MAIN page in the right viewport.
     
  6. Select Go To Page.

  For more information on Gateway to Language and Learning, please see the DynaVox Language Applications section in your Quick Start Guide.
  

• The 12 Adult page set contains some vocabulary related to activities of daily living. For more information on the Adult page set, please see the DynaVox Language Applications section in your Quick Start Guide.

Boardmaker Applications:

The original “Engineering” sets of overlays in book form are now available on CD for Boardmaker. These displays are great time-savers for providing easy access to the communication displays. The displays are comprised of black-and-white symbols on colour-coded backgrounds (according to the Goossens’ colour-coded system).