InterAACt and Social Interaction
Supporting Social Participation
Communicating during social situations may be challenging for people with aphasia.
An individual with expressive aphasia may have difficulties creating a complete
sentence when ordering what they want to eat at a restaurant. Another person, one
with receptive aphasia, may not understand what the server is telling them about
today’s specials.
DynaVox communication devices offer access to vocabulary words, phrases and sentences
to support those with expressive aphasia. InterAACt can help people build complete
sentences and aid them by providing the correct vocabulary words. Further, with
words and pictures available for display, the person with receptive aphasia can
use the DynaVox device with the person they are communicating with to better understand
what is being said, keeping them in the conversation. By providing topic pages for
adult social settings, tools for using pictures and images, DynaVox communication
devices can aid in the understanding of language for the person using the device
and the listener in social settings.
Real life examples of social interaction supports:
Topic Pages support those with aphasia in social settings by providing an image
of the context, like shopping.
Shelia has receptive language difficulties. She uses her device at the grocery store
to communicate what she wants to say at checkout.
Quickfires provide access to messages that can be used to support a conversation
(e.g., Yeah!), make a comment (e.g., I don't know) or make a request (e.g., Wait!).
These quick messages are available from any page in the system because they can
be used in any situation.
Shelia uses Quickfires by pressing "talk" on her shopping page, she can instantly
answer questions and communicate a misunderstanding to the person at the checkout
counter.
Digital Photographs can be imported into the device to support conversations about
an event or topic. With digital photographs, adults with aphasia can use the image
to assist them in communicating what they want to say. In social settings, a photograph
of a recent trip can be used to break the ice and open conversation.
