Storybook Reading in Individuals With Down Syndrome

Summary

This study uses mobile eye-tracking technology in order to characterize patterns of visual attention to communication supports, as well as a partner, within real world interactions for individuals with Down syndrome.

Visual communication supports are central components of what is termed augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) intervention. AAC refers to the methods and technology designed to supplement spoken communication for people with limited speech. "Aided" AAC is a subcategory in which an external aid stores and presents for use visual symbols such as photographs, line drawings, or alphabet letters. The most traditional means of structuring aided AAC displays is to present the language concepts within row-column grids, which contain individual symbols/concepts placed in each grid square. The investigator's previous work investigated whether these grid-based presentations could be improved by understanding how different perceptual features of the displays influence responding (i.e., whether what the display looks like influences how easily the information on it is found). Individuals with developmental disabilities and children developing typically were faster and more accurate in finding information on some displays over others, when tested using a "visual search" task (aka, a "finding game" - "find the dog").

The previous investigations have evaluated visual attention within a setting that isolated visual processing of the AAC display as the primary dependent measure. However, communication requires attention not only to an AAC display, but also to a communication partner. Therefore, the current study seeks to examine questions of visual attention to both an AAC display and a communication partner. The investigators will manipulate characteristics of the structure of the display (e.g., arrangement of symbols), in order to determine if more optimal displays facilitate desirable patterns of visual attention to both the communication display and the partner. The mobile eye-tracking technology captures attention to both the display and the communication partner. The investigators anticipate that participants will be able to attend to their partner and the shared activity more when the AAC display is more optimal, but that when the AAC display is sub-optimal, the participants will have to spend more time examining the AAC display and less time in actual communication.

Conditions

• Down Syndrome
• Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Interventions

DEVICE

AAC Technology - Standard of Care

Story Book is separate from AAC symbols, AAC symbols are arranged on a grid with color backgrounds. This is non-optimal arrangement and non-integrated presentation

DEVICE

AAC Technology - non-optimal integrated arrangement

Story Book is integrated on to the AAC display together with the AAC symbols, AAC symbols are arranged on a grid with color backgrounds. This is non-optimal arrangement and but integrated presentation

DEVICE

AAC Technology - non-optimal integrated arrangement

Story Book is integrated on to the AAC display together with the AAC symbols, AAC symbols are arranged on a grid with color backgrounds. This is optimal arrangement and but integrated presentation

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

  collaborator NIH

• Penn State University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Krista Wilkinson, PhD · Penn State

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

DEVICE_FEASIBILITY

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

7 Years

Max Age

35 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-04-01

Primary Completion

2021-11-30

Completion

2021-11-30

FDA Device

Yes

Countries

• United States

Study Locations