A tale of transitions: The challenges of integrating speech synthesis in aided communication

Many aided communicators have used low-tech communication boards for extended periods of time when they receive a voice output device. Integrating sophisticated technology into conversational interactions draws on a range of skills for both the aided communicator and their speaking partners. A range of individual and environmental factors influences the transition from low-tech to hi-tech communication aids. This chapter considers the impact of these factors on intervention and the developmental course of two individuals, Niall and Cara. The potential benefits of synthetic speech are clearly illustrated in the stories of Niall and Cara and by the literature. However, the scaffolding needed to support effective use of voice output must be carefully constructed, if these benefits are to be realized in ways that lead to genuine social inclusion and to meaningful, positive changes in the communication experiences of aided communicators. © 2010, IGI Global

Evaluation of the International Child Development Programme (ICDP) as a community-wide parenting programme

Background: Many parenting programmes lack proper evaluation, especially under community-wide implementation. Objective: Examining the effectiveness of the eight-week International Child Development Programme (ICDP), implemented as a general programme. Methodology: Non-clinical caregivers attending ICDP (N = 141) and a non-attending community comparison group (N = 79) completed questionnaires on parenting, psychosocial functioning, and child difficulties before and after ICDP course. Analyses compare changes in scores for both groups over time. Results: The ICDP group showed more positive attitudes towards child management and reported better child management, improved parental strategies and less impact of child difficulties. Caregivers with low initial scores benefited most. The comparison group showed little change with a significant decrease in scores on the caregiver–child activity scale. Discussion: The results suggest that caregivers in the community who do not show clinical signs or have children with behaviour or other disorders, may benefit from participating in parent training based on ICDP

Communicating the unknown: descriptions of pictured scenes and events presented on video by children and adolescents using aided communication and their peers using natural speech.

The facility to describe scenes and events is important in everyday communication, but little is known about the description skills and strategies of young people using aided communication. This article explores how 81 children and adolescents using aided communication and 56 peers using natural speech, aged 5-15 years, described pictured scenes and events presented on video to a partner who had no prior knowledge of the content. The group who used aided communication took longer and included fewer elements in their descriptions than the reference group; however, the groups did not differ in their use of irrelevant or incorrect elements, suggesting that both groups stayed on topic. Measures related to aided message efficiency correlated significantly with measures of spoken language comprehension. There were no significant differences between groups for their descriptions of pictured scenes and video events. Analyses showed both unpredicted group similarities and predictable differences, suggesting key components for future research consideration

The long-term effectiveness of the International Child Development Programme (ICDP) implemented as a community-wide parenting programme

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/3.0/, which permits the unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The moral rights of the named author(s) have been asserted.Short-term effectiveness of the International Child Development Programme (ICDP) for parents in the general population has been studied. The aim of this paper was to investigate the longer term impact of the ICDP programme on parents looking for sustained changes 6–12 months after the programme. For this, a nonclinical caregiver group attending the ICDP programme (N ¼ 79) and a nonattending comparison group (N ¼ 62) completed questionnaires on parenting, psychosocial functioning, and child difficulties before, on completion and 6–12 months after the ICDP programme. Analyses compare changes in scores over time. The results revealed that the ICDP group showed significantly improved scores on parenting measures, less loneliness, and trends towards improved self-efficacy compared to the comparison group 6–12 months after programme completion. The ICDP group also reported that their children spent significantly less time on television and computer games and a trend towards fewer child difficulties. Key positive effects sustained over time but at a somewhat lower level, supporting community-wide implementation of ICDP as a general parenting programme. It is concluded that more intensive training with follow-up sessions should be considered to sustain and boost initial gains.Funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Children, Equality, and Social Inclusion

Paradoxical correlates of a facilitative parenting programme in prison—counter-productive intervention or first signs of responsible parenthood?

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention on 07/04/2014, available online: doi: 10.1080/14043858.2014.898981Purpose. Parenting programmes are rarely part of prisoners’ rehabilitation, and evaluations of such programmes are lacking. Methods. The present mixed-methods study investigates the International Child Development Programme (ICDP) with 25 incarcerated fathers and a comparison group of 36 community fathers through questionnaires administered before and after parenting courses. Interviews with 20 incarcerated fathers were analysed using thematic analysis. Results. Before the course, the prison group self-reported better parenting skills and poorer psychosocial health than the comparison group. Both groups improved on parenting strategies. On several measures the comparison group improved, while the prison group revealed the same or lower scores. The incarcerated fathers described becoming more aware of their paternal role but also saw the course as emotionally challenging. Conclusions. Some of the self-reported scores of the prison participants related to parental skills and psychosocial health decreased from ‘before’ to ‘after’ ICDP sensitization, pointing to the possibility that the ICDP courses may have contributed to overcoming a ‘prisonization process’, where the prisoner identity overshadows the parental identity, by making them more aware of their parental responsibilities. Due to the emerging possibility of counter-productive influences, a randomized controlled study is needed in the future to ascertain the parenting and recidivism-related effects of this programme