Faculty of Education
School of Educational Studies
Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC)
Selected Highlights from Research Findings
Children who experience spelling difficulties are limited in their participation in all written school activities. This study investigated word prediction as a tool to improve spelling accuracy and typing speed. A cross-over within-subject research design was used involving 80 Grade 4 to Grade 6 children with spelling difficulties in a school for children with special needs. The results indicate a statistically significant increase in spelling accuracy with the use of word prediction, but at the cost of time and the tendency to use word approximations. The latter tendency decreased as grade and age increased. Further research on the impact that more extensive training and practice would have on word prediction efficacy and the usefulness of word prediction in a more functional writing activity is necessary.
Contact person: Prof E Alant.
During 2004 the research focus in the CAAC also centred on synthesizing issues related to the use of augmentative and alternative communication within a poverty context. These studies culminated in the publication of a book. The methods used and discussed in the book range from describing the difficulties of local children in interpreting and learning specific graphic symbols on initial recognition and after one exposure, to investigating ways in which these graphic symbols can be displayed (for example, by means of enlarged communication boards used by the teacher) and facilitating the participation of children with little or no functional speech in classroom activities. In addition, significant attention is also given to identifying appropriate technology options that could be sustained within poverty intervention contexts. With this book the CAAC hopes to stimulate further discussion on the complexity of issues involved in assisting individuals with severe disabilities and families who live in poverty contexts.
Contact person: Prof E Alant.
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