DOCUMENT RESUME ED 246 642 EC 170 038 AUTHOR Coleman, Colette L.; And Others TITLE Enhancing the Educational Potential of Non-Oral Children through Matching Communication Device Capabilities Children's Needs. Final Report. INSTITUTION Sacramento State Univ. Foundation, Calif. SPONS AGENCY Special Education Programs (ED/OSERS), Washington, DC. PUB DATE [82] GRANT G007902261 NOTE 655p.; Document printed largely on colored paper. Some figures and tabular material may be marginally legible due to poor print quality. PUB TYPE Reports - Evaluative/Feasibility (142) -- Reports Research/Technical (143) -- Collected Works - General (020) EDRS PRICE DESCRIPTORS MF03/PC27 Plus Postage. *Communication Aids (for Disabled); *Communication Disorders; *Communication Skills; Electromechanical Al's; va ua ion e s; . Handicaps; Student-Evaluati-on IDENTIFIERS Augmentative Cu.allunication Systems ABSTRACT The report describes activities and results of a project to identify communication characteristics that would help match augmentative communication system (ACS) capabilities to the needs of nonoral children. Ss had a variety of handicapping conditions, including cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities. Introductory sections cover the following topics (sample subtopics in parentheses): initial assessment (components including interviews, underlying theoretical principles); a systematic approach for choosing the interfaces for assistive devices (case studies illustrating selection of control site and interface and testing of the combination); assessment of the nonoral individuals' abilities (a test battery designed to identify ale most functional symbol system, estimate potential level of sophistication, and diagnose performance deficiencies). Additional papers report on a multivariate analysis of perceived communication needs of nonspeaking children; evaluation of four types of ACS (voice output, scanners, printed output, and communication boards and books); a method for relating speaking and/or writing impaired clients' goals and skills to the characteristics of ACS; evaluation of the assessment procedure in terms of outcome and flow; and results of a questionnaire rating the efficacy of the match between the S and the recommended communication system. Comprising nearly one half of the document, 11 appendixes include assessment forms and materials and information on hardware and software used on the project. (CL) *********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * **********************************************x***A********************