The understandability of AAC: A conversation analysis study of acquired dysarthria

In this paper, an analysis of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system use by two adults with acquired dysarthria in conversation with their partners at home is presented. The qualitative methodology of Conversation Analysis (CA) is used to describe a particular type of AAC activity that was utilized during conversations by speakers with dysarthria for whom natural speech was still the primary modality. The two main findings were (a) that AAC was regularly used by speakers with dysarthria to attempt self-repairs of communication problems identified by their non-dysarthric partners; and (b) that AAC turns during self-repair activities were typically treated as intelligible but not fully understandable. It is suggested that CA can serve as a useful tool in dysarthria/AAC assessment and for the tailoring of AAC interventions to everyday conversational practices between people with dysarthria and their conversation partners. © 2004 Taylor & Francis Ltd.