Blue Rectangle
title Image for Rehab Engineer main page
RTS Information (password required)
Link to my list of bookmarks
Link to Section 508 Information
Link to Case Study Index
Link to my Resume
Link to my design projects
Link to Technology Watch for this month
Link to upper body ergonomics pages
link to page on making web sites accessible
Augmentative Communication Information Site
Job opportunities in the field of assistive technology
e-mail me
Leonardo DaVinci's Vitruvian drawing
This information is provided "as is" without warranty or any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. In no event shall RehabEngineer.Homestead.com or Michael Papp be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, or consequential damages of any kind whatsoever with respect to the service, the materials and the products referenced in these documents. This applies to all pages on this web site.

PicoSearch Help
Site Map
Core
Overview
Goals
Communication Systems
Blue Rectangle
White Rectangle
This page was last updated on: 23 October, 2012
Augmentative Communications

Selection Set
Assessment
Glossary
Current Technology
Design Projects | Ergonomics | Section 508 | Case Studies | Qualifications | RTS Info
Tech Watch | Links | Accessible Web Design
Augmentative Communication | Augmentative Communication Computer Hardware | Contact
Resources
Unaided Symbols:

Gestures and Vocalizations
Gestures are a combination of body movements, facial expressions, eye movements, and postures. Gestures may include yes/no headshakes, pointing, or mime. Vocalizations that are communicative in nature are typically produced by individuals who have trouble with speech. For instance, involuntary sounds such as yelling, moaning, crying, laughing, or yawning. Vocalizations require interpretation by the communication partner.

Gestural Codes
Gestural codes are another form of nonverbal communication that were developed for use by individuals with communication impairments. Unlike gestures, gestural codes are more formalized and are understood by persons familar with the individual using them. Individuals in nursing homes, hospitals, and residential centers typically used gestural codes for communication purposes. However, gestural codes are generally not used any longer, with the exception of Amer-Ind. Amer-ind is a gestural code used by Native American Indians. The system was developed to allow tribes with different language systems the ability to communicate with one another. Amer-Ind is also a widely known gesture system used with severely disabled individuals.


Manual Sign Systems
Manual sign systems were originally developed for use by the deaf population, however, signing has also been used by individuals with severe communication disorders who are able to hear. One common manual signing system is American Sign Language, or ASL. American Sign Language has its own grammer, linguistic structure, and vocabulary; therefore, it is completely independent from English. ASL consists of fingerspelling, mime/gestures, signs, a spatial system, and ASL word order. Sign language is not universal, different sign languages are used in different countries. For instance, there is a French Sign Language, a Chinese Sign Language, a British Sign Language, etc. None of these sign languages are exactly alike. In fact, only about 10% of the signs in each of these languages are identical.
Click Here to Link to ASL Online Dictionary

Manually Coded English has been developed to code English word order, syntax, and grammer. The purpose of using manually coded English instead of American Sign Language is to provide an easier transition from written English to speech. However, manually coded English is slower and does not keep up with spoken English like American Sign Language does. The three most common manually coded English sign systems are Pidgin Signed English, Signed English, and Signing Exact English. Pidgin Signed English is the medium between American Sign Language and Spoken English. It was developed as a result of two different languages attempting to communicate with one another. Therefore, Pidgin Signed English became a mixture of ASL and English Sign. Unlike American Sign Language, Signed English and Signing Exact English do not consist of mime,/gestures, or a spatial system. They do, however, use fingerspelling and signs. Likewise, an English word order system is used instead of an ASL word order system.

Aided Symbols:

Real Objects
Individuals with communication disorders may communicate by pointing to or looking at an object that represents the item they want to communicate about. For instance, if an individual would like to go outside they may point to the door. Problems may arise with this type of communication when the individual points to an object and it means something else. Therefore, it is very important that the communication partner ask a series of yes/no questions to the individual in order to determine exactly what they are saying.

Representational Symbols
There are many types of two and three-dimensional symbols that may be used to represent an actual object. Photographs, PCS, Rebus symbols, Picsyms, PIC symbols, and Blissymbols are the main types of representational symbols that will be described in the following paragraphs. Some links to related websites are provided to give a more detailed description of the symbol systems.

   Photographs
   Regular black and white or color photographs may be used to represent actual objects, activities,     locations, verbs and people.

   Picture Communication Symbols (PCS)
   Simple line drawings are used to represent an object.
   Click Here to Link to Manufacturer

   Rebus Symbols
   A representation of words or syllables by pictures of objects.
   Click Here to Link to Manufacturer

   Picsyms
   Picsyms are a combination of pre-drawn symbols and user-drawn symbols. The idea is to
   provide the user an initial symbol set and allow them to draw additional ones to expand their
   vocabulary.

   Sigsymbols
   Sigsymbols incorporate the use of pictographs, ideographs, and manual signs. When
   pictographs and ideographs cannot be used to represent an abstract idea, pictures of manual
   signs taken from sign language are used.

   Pictograph Ideogram Communication Symbols
   Pictograph Ideogram Communication (PIC) symbols include pictographs in addition to
   ideographs. They are different from the previous symbol systems discussed in that they are
   depicted as white symbols on a black background to increase visibility.

   Blissymbols
   Blissymbols consist of pictographic, ideographic, and arbitrary symbols. These symbols provide
   rather abstract representations of concepts and are typically understood less than the
   pictographic symbols mentioned previously. However, Blissymbols provide a much broader
   range of topics and allow the user to expand his or her vocabulary more readily.
   Click Here to Link to Manufacturer

Abstract Symbol Systems
Absract symbol systems use symbols that do not suggest their meaning. The most common abstract symbol system is Yerkish lexigrams.

Orthographic Symbols
Traditional orthography is the use of written characters to represent a specific linguisitic system such as the English alphabet. The most widely known orthographic symbols are Morse Code and Braille. The following two paragraphs discuss these two systems in more detail.

   Morse Code
   Morse code, a method of communication, is an international symbol system that represents
   letters, numbers, and punctuation marks using a series of dots and dashes. Morse Code is
   becoming an increasingly popular input method for individuals with disabilities because it is very
   fast.
   Click Here to Link to Computer Access Applications Using Morse Code

   Braille
   Braille is a tactile symbol system used by individuals with visual impairments to read and write
   Combinations of six embossed dots arranged in a cell of two columns make up the Braille
   characters. The Braille characters represent letters, words, and parts of words. Like Morse code,
   Braille is used internationally, but different countries change the code of the characters to match
   their language.
   Click Here to Link to Computer Access Applications Using Braille

          Back to Augmentative Communications Systems Page