Biomaterial Database

Augmentative communication--an approach for the severely physically handicapped person without oral speech. 1984

J K Montgomery

Many individuals are unable to communicate, due to severe neuromuscular impairments. In the past they were assessed by the speech pathologist for their ability to produce oral speech. When the oral musculature and respiratory system were found to be too weak to support sustained phonation for speech, they did not receive further treatment. This severe dysarthria resulted in unintelligible or no useful speech. Both children and adults experienced the extreme frustration of no human communication despite, in many cases, their intact intellectual functioning. Augmentative communication offers supplementary systems for these individuals to express their thoughts and resume or begin some measure of a productive life. This article describes the potential of speechless individuals, the assessment process, some of the existing technology and the role of health care professionals in this new field.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D003143	Communication Aids for Disabled	Equipment that provides mentally or physically disabled persons with a means of communication. The aids include display boards, typewriters, cathode ray tubes, computers, and speech synthesizers. The output of such aids includes written words, artificial speech, language signs, Morse code, and pictures.	Augmentative and Alternative Communications Systems,Communication Aids for Handicapped,Communication Boards,Speech Synthesizers,Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf,TDD,TTY Telephone,Text Telecommunication,Text Telecommunication Devices,Text Telephone,Communication Board,Speech Synthesizer,Synthesizer, Speech,Synthesizers, Speech,TTY Telephones,Telecommunication Device, Text,Telecommunication Devices, Text,Telecommunication, Text,Telecommunications, Text,Text Telecommunication Device,Text Telecommunications,Text Telephones
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012656	Self-Help Devices	Devices, not affixed to the body, designed to help persons having musculoskeletal or neuromuscular disabilities to perform activities involving movement.	Assistive Devices,Assistive Technology,Assistive Device,Assistive Technologies,Device, Assistive,Device, Self-Help,Devices, Assistive,Devices, Self-Help,Self Help Devices,Self-Help Device,Technologies, Assistive,Technology, Assistive
D013064	Speech Disorders	Acquired or developmental conditions marked by an impaired ability to comprehend or generate spoken forms of language.	Aprosodia,Aprosodic Speech,Cluttering,Dysglossia,Dyslalia,Rhinolalia,Verbal Fluency Disorders,Aprosodias,Clutterings,Dysglossias,Dyslalias,Rhinolalias,Speech, Aprosodic,Verbal Fluency Disorder
D013070	Speech Therapy	Treatment for individuals with speech defects and disorders that involves counseling and use of various exercises and aids to help the development of new speech habits.	Therapy, Speech,Speech Therapies,Therapies, Speech