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Design And Evaluation Of An Augmentative Communication Aid For Multiply Impaired Individuals, Mark S. Annett

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with sensory and multiple physical impairments, which may include the loss of the ability to speak, have very specialized communication needs. Based on the belief that the current technology does not fully meet these needs, a prototype communication aid was developed for an individual who is cortically blind, dysphonic, and motor impaired. Furthermore, the communication device has broader applications beyond the present individual.

The prototype system has a direct selection of "Yes" and "No" responses, scanning access to daily phrases, rate enhancement of all scans, prompted encoding for selection of letters, two letter codes for complete sentences, access to …