OUTPUT FEATURES

(methods by which a message is communicated)

Auditory Output

Digitized speech

Synthesized speech

Text-to-speech

Rate enhancement

Word Prediction

Digitized & Text-to-Speech

Visual Output

LCD/LED

Non-electronic Visual Display

Printed Visual Output

Electronic Output (Environmental control)

Required – computer, phone, TV, appliance, etc.

Not Required

INPUT FEATURES/ACCESS METHOD

(means by which theAACuser makes selection for communication)

Direct Selection

Pointing w/physical contact & force (point & press) i.e. finger, hand-wand, mouth stick.

Pointing w/o physical contact.i.e. eye gaze, light pointer, infrared pointer

Pointing w/ contact and no force (point & touch) i.e. touch screen

Flick screen (mobile device)

Pick up & Exchange (PECS)

Voice Recognition/Speech Input

Indirect Selection

Scanning w/ single or dual switches

__Visual

__Auditory

__Visual/Auditory

Direct Scanning (Joystick)

Coded Access (Morse code)

Equipment

Head Control

Joystick

Mouse

Keyguard

Other

AAC FEATURE MATCH

SELECTION SET FEATURES (items that are available to AAC users for communication)

Vocabulary Size

tiny <15

small 16-99

midrange 100-249

extensive >250

Symbol Types

Visual

__Object

__Photo

__Line drawing: specify___________

__Text based

Tactile/Tangible

__mini

__partial

__raised

Auditory symbols

Auditory scanning

Auditory cues

Message Retrieval Strategies

Levels and Overlays (Static Display)

Dynamic Display

Visual scene display

Grid: _____cells/page

Encoding (i.e. minspeak)

Combination of Retrieval Methods

VOCABULARY ORGANIZATION/ MESSAGE FEATURES

(features that permit the user to compose the message)

Vocabulary Organization

Pre-programmed utterances only

Single word

Combination

Word combination+ spelling

Activity based

Fitzgerald key

Minspeak

Activation Feedback

No activation feedback

Auditory activation feedback

Visual activation feedback

Tactile activation feedback

Rate Enhancement

Encoding

Icon or symbol encoding

Letter encoding

Numeric or alphanumeric encoding

Prediction

Word completion

Next word prediction

Linguistic prediction

Whole message prediction

Icon prediction

OTHER FEATURES

Physical & Electrical Features

Weight

Portability

Dimensions of the device

Mountability

Control Accessibility

Backup capability

Memory

Durability

Power

Speakers

Software Compatibility

Related Skills: Static Display

Student is able to:

Utilize multiple levels

Change levels

Match appro. Overlay to level

Select appro. Overlay for activity

Utilize volume control

Related Skills: Dynamic Display

Student is able to:

Demo. categorization skills in # of topic areas

Recall memory to locate vocab. not on current screen

Remember navigational pathways

Correct errors in navigation

Generate a single message using multiple pages

Utilize text to speech

Utilize word prediction

Use preprogrammed vocab. software____________

Dedicated Communication Devices

Dedicated

Non-dedicated

Computer based that are “dedicated” to AAC

Adapted by B.Commers from University of Washington, Available: http://depts.washington.edu/augcomm/02_features/00_features_intro.htm