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This study examined the effects of an intervention package using high-tech augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) with Naturalistic Instruction (NI), time delay, and prompting during social routines for preschoolers on the autism spectrum. The AAC was a communication application on a tablet programmed with color photo representations of participants and communication partners engaged in social routines. The primary dependent measure was a linguistic communication turn on the AAC device completing the instructor's cloze phrase related to the routine. A secondary dependent measure was prelinguistic communication –nonspecific vocalizations and smiling – within each turn of the routine. Results indicated that all communication types increased and maintained for all three participants with two participants meeting mastery criteria within the minimal number of sessions. These results are significant in providing additional evidence for the effectiveness of AAC intervention beyond teaching simple object requests and in teaching more socially meaningful communication to children on the autism spectrum. Additionally, this study supports the use of color photo representations to promote social interaction. Future research should continue to evaluate such interventions on a larger scale and include naturally occurring communication partners, such as siblings and peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technology innovation is urgently needed to improve outcomes for children on the autism spectrum who are minimally verbal. One potential technology innovation is applying artificial intelligence (AI) to automate strategies such as augmented input to increase language learning opportunities while mitigating communication partner time and learning barriers. Innovation in AAC research and design methodology is also needed to empirically explore this and other applications of AI to AAC. The purpose of this report was to describe (a) the development of an AAC prototype using a design methodology new to AAC research and (b) a preliminary investigation of the efficacy of this potential new AAC capability. Method: The prototype was developed using a Wizard-of-Oz prototyping approach that allows for initial exploration of a new technology capability without the time and effort required for full-scale development. The preliminary investigation with three children on the autism spectrum who were minimally verbal used an adapted alternating treatment design to compare the effects of a Wizard-of-Oz prototype that provided automated augmented input (i.e., pairing color photos with speech) to a standard topic display (i.e., a grid display with line drawings) on visual attention, linguistic participation, and (for one participant) word learning during a circle activity. Results: Preliminary investigation results were variable, but overall participants increased visual attention and linguistic participation when using the prototype. Conclusions: Wizard-of-Oz prototyping could be a valuable approach to spur much needed innovation in AAC. Further research into efficacy, reliability, validity, and attitudes is required to more comprehensively evaluate the use of AI to automate augmented input in AAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]