AN INVESTIGATION OF TURKISH SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPISTS’ THOUGHTS ON ALTERNATIVE AND AUGMENTATIVE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

Öz

Objectives: Speech and language therapists (SLP) are the primary authorities for preparing and teaching alternative and augmentative communication systems (AAC). This study aims to find Turkish SLPs' thoughts about AAC systems. Materials and Methods: The research was carried out with a survey that, researchers developed called “Alternative and Augmentative Communication Knowledge Questionnaire (AACQ)”. AACQ contains three parts, a) Demographic questions, b) 17 items about AAC & and c) Two open-ended questions about the AAC. For this study, 45 SLPs participated. 33.3% of the participants have been working as SLPs for 2-3 years and 55.6% of them are working in a rehabilitation center. Results: AACQ scores differ statistically and significantly according to the group that uses AAC in clinical settings (p =,003 <,05). But did not differ statistically according to taking a lecture about AAC, taking courses about AAC and, their length of service as an SLP. It was observed that 80% of the participants were not comfortable using AAC. When the AAC examples of the same participants were analyzed, participants only gave five different examples. The example with the highest percentage and the majority of the rest of the examples were low-tech and un-aided AAC systems. Also observed that the largest proportion of the example is “Communication Board” with 32.94% percent which is low-tech device. 82.2% of the SLPs want to use AAC but a) lack of knowledge about AAC, b) insufficient material, c)families’ negative thoughts d) discomfort of SLPs while using the AACs were barriers to this process. Conclusion: Turkish SLPs need to become more aware of the AAC. The limited examples shows that AAC systems are not sufficiently known in Turkey. But they also have different barriers to using AAC. There is a need to develop materials compatible with Turkish culture and language. To improve that, it is important to conduct investigations into the AAC systems of the Turkish SLPs. In addition, there is a need to improve AAC education in undergraduate lectures in SLP education. With this development, it is thought that Turkish language-specific ADIS varieties can be kept up to date.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• alternative and augmentative communication systems
• speech and language pathologist
• descriptive research

Türk Dil ve Konuşma Terapistlerinin Alternatif ve Destekleyici İletişim Sistemleri Hakkındaki Düşüncelerinin İncelenmesi

Öz

Amaçlar: Dil ve konuşma terapistleri (DKT), alternatif ve destekleyici iletişim sistemlerinin (ADİS) hazırlanması ve öğretilmesinde birincil yetkililerdir. Bu çalışma Türk dil ve konuşma terapistlerinin ADİS sistemleri hakkındaki düşüncelerini incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Araştırma, araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen "Alternatif ve Destekleyici İletişim Sistemleri Bilgi Anketi (ADİSBA)" ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. ADİSBA, a) Demografik sorular, b) ADİS ile ilgili 17 madde ve c) ADİS hakkında iki açık uçlu soru olmak üzere üç bölümden oluşmaktadır. Bu çalışmaya 45 DKT katılmıştır. Katılımcıların %33,3'ü 2-3 yıldır DKT olarak çalışmaktadır ve %55,6'sı bir rehabilitasyon merkezinde çalışmaktadır. Sonuçlar: Klinik ortamda ADİS kullanan katılımcıların, kullanmayanlara göre ADİSBA skorları istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklılık göstermektedir (p =,003 <,05). Ancak katılımcıların ADİS hakkında, ders alma, eğitim alma ve DKT olarak hizmet sürelerine göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklılık elde edilememiştir. Katılımcıların %80'inin ADİS kullanımında rahat olmadığı görülmüştür. Aynı katılımcıların ADİS örnekleri incelendiğinde, katılımcıların sadece beş farklı ADİS örneği verebildiği ortaya konmuştur. Katılımcıların verdiği ADİS örneklerinin çoğunluğunun düşük teknolojili ve yardımsız ADİS sistemleridir. Ayrıca katılımcıların en çok verdiği örneğin %32,94 oran ile düşük teknolojili bir cihaz olan "İletişim Tahtası" olduğu gözlemlenmiştir. DKT'lerin %82,2'si ADİS kullanmak istemektedir ancak a) ADİS hakkında bilgi eksikliği, b) materyal yetersizliği, c) ailelerin olumsuz düşünceleri d) DKT'lerin ADİS'leri kullanırken rahat olmamaları bu sürecin önündeki engellerdir. Sonuç: DKT'lerin ADİS konusunda daha bilinçli olmaları gerekmektedir. Katılımcıların verdikleri örneklerin sınırlı olması, destekli öğrenme sistemlerinin Türkiye'de yeterince bilinmediğini göstermektedir Ancak, ADİS kullanımı konusunda farklı engelleri bulunmaktadır. Türk kültürü ve diliyle uyumlu materyallerin geliştirilmesine ihtiyaç vardır. Bunu geliştirmek için, DKT'lerin ADİS sistemlerine yönelik araştırmalar yapması oldukça önem taşımaktadır. Ayrıca, DKT lisans eğitiminde ADİS ile ilgili verilen eğitiminin geliştirilmesine ihtiyaç bulunmaktadır. Bu gelişme ile Türkçe diline özgü ADİS çeşitlerinin güncel tutulabileceği düşünülmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• dil ve konuşma terapisti
• betimsel araştırma
• alternatif ve destekleyici iletişim sistemleri

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