Impact of AAC interventions on participation outcomes in children with complex communication needs : a scoping review

Abstract

Participation or taking part in life situations, is a fundamental human right. Participation is a complex and multidimensional construct. The importance of participation on health, education, and well-being for children and youth with disabilities have extensively been indicated by literature. Being able to communicate is an essential component of full participation in various life situations such as at school, with peers and in the community. Communication provides a means to participate and specially to participate socially. Complex communication needs usually limit the opportunities of children or youth with disabilities to have social interaction with peers. Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) interventions aim to facilitate communication competency and effectiveness to increase social interaction and independence. Importantly, participation in all aspects of life – which is considered the ultimate goal of AAC intervention – is a complex and multifaceted construct. Evidence suggests that there is little research on participation-related intervention outcomes for children who use AAC. The purpose of the current study was to use the family of Participation and Related Constructs (fPRC) framework to review and describe the reported outcomes of AAC intervention for children and youth with complex communication needs. The scoping review identified a total of 270 studies for inclusion and the data was extracted and mapped onto the fPRC. The results indicate that although many studies report on participation-related constructs such as activity competence and context, there is still a paucity of focus on the constructs of attendance and involvement, sense of self and environment-related constructs. The study therefore highlights the need for future research on these constructs. Participation should be the primary focus of intervention and the long-term wellbeing of children and youth using AAC should be enhanced by developing comprehensive participatory goals in collaboration with all stakeholders.