Influence of communicative competence and augmentative and alternative communication technique on children's attitudes toward a peer who uses AAC

The focus of this research was on how components of communicative competence (i.e., response time and need for prompting) and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technique (i.e., nonelectronic communication board vs. static screen voice output device) used by a child who used AAC influenced the self-reported attitudes of peers. Fourth- and fifth-grade children participated in a study in which they observed videotapes of a child using AAC and then completed an attitudinal rating scale, the Assessment of Attitudes Toward Augmentative/Alternative Communication (AATAAC). The children were assigned to one of four videotape conditions, which varied according to the AAC technique used and the child's competence. Results indicated that there was no significant effect of participants' grade level, of the device type used, or of the communicative competence of the child who used AAC on the children's attitudes. Additionally, no significant interactions between variables were found. The only significant effect found was for gender, with girls being more positive toward the AAC user than boys. The clinical and theoretical implications of these results are discussed.