Tele-AAC Resolution

<p><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: small;">Approximately 1.3% of all people, or about 4 million Americans, cannot rely on their natural speech to meet their daily communication needs. Telepractice offers a potentially cost-effective service delivery mechanism to p...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kate Anderson, Michelle K. Boisvert, Janis Doneski-Nicol, Michelle L. Gutmann, Nerissa C. Hall, Cynthia Morelock, Richard Steele, Ellen R. Cohn
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hawaii Pacific University Library 2012-12-01
Series:International Journal of Telerehabilitation
Online Access:http://telerehab.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/Telerehab/article/view/6106
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Summary:<p><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: small;">Approximately 1.3% of all people, or about 4 million Americans, cannot rely on their natural speech to meet their daily communication needs. Telepractice offers a potentially cost-effective service delivery mechanism to provide clinical AAC services at a distance to the benefit of underserved populations in the United States and worldwide<strong>.</strong>  Tele-AAC is a unique cross-disciplinary clinical service delivery model that requires expertise in both telepractice and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems.  The Tele-AAC Working Group of the 2012 ISAAC Research Symposium therefore drafted a resolution underscoring the importance of identifying and characterizing the unique opportunities and constraints of Tele-AAC in all aspects of service delivery. These include, but are not limited to: needs assessments; implementation planning; device/system procurement, set-up and training; quality assurance, client progress monitoring, and follow-up service delivery. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: small;">Tele-AAC, like other telepractice applications, requires adherence to the ASHA Code of Ethics and other policy documents, and state, federal, and international laws, as well as a competent technological infrastructure. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: small;">The Working Group recommends that institutions of higher education and professional organizations provide training in Tele-AAC service provision. In addition, research and development are needed to create validity measures across Tele-AAC practices (i.e., assessment, implementation, and consultation); determine the communication competence levels achieved  by Tele-AAC users; discern stakeholders’  perceptions of Tele-AAC services (e.g., acceptability and viability); maximize Tele-AAC’s capacity to engage multiple team members in AAC assessment and ongoing service; identify the limitations and barriers of Tele-AAC provision; and develop potential solutions</span><em><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: small;">.</span></em></p><p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span></p>
ISSN:1945-2020