{"id":70405,"date":"2016-01-25T08:00:22","date_gmt":"2016-01-25T13:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=70405"},"modified":"2019-06-24T14:21:19","modified_gmt":"2019-06-24T18:21:19","slug":"nih-funds-study-on-technology-services-for-children-with-severe-speech-disabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/nih-funds-study-on-technology-services-for-children-with-severe-speech-disabilities\/","title":{"rendered":"NIH Funds Study on Technology, Services for Children with Severe Speech Disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"
Jennifer Kent-Walsh, professor of communication sciences and disorders, has been awarded a $437,812 grant from the National Institutes of Health to improve clinical services for young children with severe speech disabilities.<\/p>\n
Kent-Walsh studies the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) by individuals with severe speech problems to express their thoughts, needs, wants and ideas. More than 4 million Americans, including many young children with developmental disabilities, rely on AAC aids and devices to supplement their natural speech.<\/p>\n
In her new project, Kent-Walsh will evaluate the impact of an AAC intervention program for preschool children with severe speech disabilities that combines tablet technology with language-learning techniques.<\/p>\n
The tablet technology is an iPad with an AAC application that displays an array of single-meaning graphic symbols on the screen that a child can select. Mass marketing of tablet technology has prompted an increasing number of families and clinicians to turn to tablets with AAC apps for young children with significant speech disorders.<\/p>\n