Attitudes of communication partners toward AAC users

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between the attitudes of communication partners of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) users and device voice output (specifically the Tango! and DV4). Also, the study examined the relationship between attitudes and age of the communication partner of the AAC user. Six children, twenty-five pre-service Speech-Language Pathologists, and four in-service Speech-Language Pathologists familiar with AAC watched videos of an interaction between a child using AAC to communication with an adult. Following the videos, each participant responded to an attitude scale questionnaire. No significant effect was found for the child participant attitudes toward the Tango! and DV4. However, significant results were found between the devices for pre-service adults, in-service adults, and adults as a whole. Recommendations and clinical implications are suggested.