JCPSLP Vol 18 no 2 July 2016
Table 3. Website viability and relevance to AAC
Total websites
300 (100%)
Total viable sites
291 (97%)
Search terms
Website relevance to AAC
Mostly
Somewhat
Not at all
Total relevant (%)
Generic terms
AAC
8
1
11
45
communication app
7
1
12
40
augmentative communication
20
0
0
100
communication board
20
0
0
100
communication devices
11
0
9
55
augmentative communication device
19
0
0
100
Technique-specific terms
facilitated communication
18
2
0
100
picture exchange communication system
18
0
0
100
tech talk communication device
19
0
1
95
go talk communication device
19
0
1
95
dynavox communication device
18
1
0
100
springboard communication device
17
0
0
100
tech talk communication device
19
0
1
95
Diagnosis-specific terms
aphasia communication
1
10
9
55
autism communication
3
7
9
53
cerebral palsy communication
5
10
3
83
(41; 47%), followed by commercial sites (21; 24%) and sites offering implementation guidance and resources (19; 22%). Site purpose varied greatly for diagnosis-specific searches. The majority of AAC-relevant sites from the aphasia communication search offered guidance around implementation (9 of the 11 sites), typically listing AAC strategies such as picture symbols, gesture, and drawing among other communication partner strategies. AAC- relevant sites for autism spectrum disorder and cerebral palsy mostly offered information on available products or techniques (9/11 and 8/15 respectively), for example picture-exchange based communication systems, communication apps, and assistive technology. Table 4 contains a breakdown of the purpose data for each keyword category. Characteristics of information sites Additional analyses were performed on all sites coded as P/T (product or technique overviews, such as non- commercial information on available AAC products), G/R (AAC implementation guidance, home practice ideas, communication partner strategies, and resource repositories), and OPN (opinion pieces or news sites). The majority of information on these sites was generic, although 23% specified an age-group (adult, child, or both).
Location data were analysed for pages dealing with services or sales, to determine their specific relevance to Australian consumers. Eighteen (26%) of sites offering purchase options were based in Australia, and five (42%) of sites describing AAC services (e.g., therapy centres, groups, or training) were also Australian-based. In total, 37% of service or commercial sites were based overseas, and irrelevant for Australian consumers. Site purpose The search terms were divided into three categories: generic, technique-specific, and diagnosis-specific (see Table 3 for groupings). We then examined the purpose distributions for each search category (see Figure 1). Perhaps unsurprisingly, commercial pages such as manufacturer and distributor sites dominated the technique-specific category (41%). In addition, technique- specific terms produced 30 overviews of products or techniques (27%), and ten opinion or news articles for a mainstream audience (9%), mostly concerning facilitated communication. The product-specific searches produced only four sites providing implementation guidance (4% of all relevant results), mostly consisting of device manuals. Conversely, pages resulting from the generic AAC searches were populated largely by product and technique overviews
70
JCPSLP Volume 18, Number 2 2016
Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology
Made with FlippingBook