Partner assisted scanning
Encyclopedia
Partner assisted scanning or listener assisted scanning is an augmentative and alternative communication
technique used to enable a person with severe speech impairments to communicate. The approach is used with individuals who, due to sickness or disability, have severe motor impairments and good memory and attention skills. It is used as an alternative to direct access (e.g. pointing) to symbols, pictures, or speech generating devices
when these are not used.
, those who do not yet have an established alternative form of communication
, or who are unable to use their usual method, perhaps because their electronic speech output device is being repaired. Adults may also use scanning with a partner when they are not using their more high-tech alternative communication device. Partner assisted scanning can also be the main means of communication for adults in late stages of diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
(ALS), Multiple Sclerosis
(MS) or those in intensive care.
Efficiency may be increased in visual partner scanning by the partner first pointing to groups of items, such as rows of letters, and once a row has been selected, proceeding to point to all letters in that row until a choice is made. The communicator can spell words this way in order to express what they need to communicate. Similarly, the partner can point to groups of words. Visual scanning may also be accomplished by the partner pointing to pictures, such as those in a personal communication book, using an agreed upon pattern.
Auditory scanning with a partner is often used when the communicator has very poor vision. Groups of letters can be represented by numbers, such as 1=abcdef. The partner lists off the numbers, and once a group is selected, he or she will name all letters in that group. Auditory scanning can also be accomplished with lists of novel messages. The partner orally lists the options and then repeats them so the communicator can make a selection. This could be a short list of emotions to inquire as to how someone is feeling (e.g happy, sad, frustrated). The partner and communicator can memorize many lists, or "menus", with sub-lists covering different topics for communication. It is important that lists are repeated in the same order and with pauses after each item, so that there is time to respond.
Jean-Dominique Bauby
, who had locked-in syndrome
, used partner assisted scanning to communicate and to write his book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
.
Augmentative and alternative communication
Augmentative and alternative communication is an umbrella term that encompasses the communication methods used to supplement or replace speech or writing for those with impairments in the production or comprehension of spoken or written language...
technique used to enable a person with severe speech impairments to communicate. The approach is used with individuals who, due to sickness or disability, have severe motor impairments and good memory and attention skills. It is used as an alternative to direct access (e.g. pointing) to symbols, pictures, or speech generating devices
Voice output communication aid
Speech generating devices , also known as voice output communication aids , are electronic augmentative and alternative communication systems that enable individuals with severe speech impairment to verbally communicate their needs.Speech generating systems may be dedicated devices developed...
when these are not used.
Users of partner assisted scanning
Partner assisted scanning is a technique used with children who have severe motor and communication impairments, and especially those with additional visual impairmentVisual impairment
Visual impairment is vision loss to such a degree as to qualify as an additional support need through a significant limitation of visual capability resulting from either disease, trauma, or congenital or degenerative conditions that cannot be corrected by conventional means, such as refractive...
, those who do not yet have an established alternative form of communication
Augmentative and alternative communication
Augmentative and alternative communication is an umbrella term that encompasses the communication methods used to supplement or replace speech or writing for those with impairments in the production or comprehension of spoken or written language...
, or who are unable to use their usual method, perhaps because their electronic speech output device is being repaired. Adults may also use scanning with a partner when they are not using their more high-tech alternative communication device. Partner assisted scanning can also be the main means of communication for adults in late stages of diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
(ALS), Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
(MS) or those in intensive care.
Technique
In partner assisted scanning, the communication partner presents messages or letter choices in a sequential fashion to the individual who wishes to communicate something, and the individual then makes their selection. Scanning refers to the process of items presented one after the other, in the same patterns, until a choice is made as the desired item is reached. Items can be presented either visually, by pointing, or auditorally, by speaking.Efficiency may be increased in visual partner scanning by the partner first pointing to groups of items, such as rows of letters, and once a row has been selected, proceeding to point to all letters in that row until a choice is made. The communicator can spell words this way in order to express what they need to communicate. Similarly, the partner can point to groups of words. Visual scanning may also be accomplished by the partner pointing to pictures, such as those in a personal communication book, using an agreed upon pattern.
Auditory scanning with a partner is often used when the communicator has very poor vision. Groups of letters can be represented by numbers, such as 1=abcdef. The partner lists off the numbers, and once a group is selected, he or she will name all letters in that group. Auditory scanning can also be accomplished with lists of novel messages. The partner orally lists the options and then repeats them so the communicator can make a selection. This could be a short list of emotions to inquire as to how someone is feeling (e.g happy, sad, frustrated). The partner and communicator can memorize many lists, or "menus", with sub-lists covering different topics for communication. It is important that lists are repeated in the same order and with pauses after each item, so that there is time to respond.
Jean-Dominique Bauby
Jean-Dominique Bauby
Jean-Dominique Bauby was a well-known French journalist, author and editor of the French fashion magazine ELLE.On 8 December 1995 at the age of 43, Bauby suffered a massive stroke. When he woke up twenty days later, he found he was entirely speechless; he could only blink his left eyelid...
, who had locked-in syndrome
Locked-In syndrome
Locked-in syndrome is a condition in which a patient is aware and awake but cannot move or communicate verbally due to complete paralysis of nearly all voluntary muscles in the body except for the eyes. Total locked-in syndrome is a version of locked-in syndrome where the eyes are paralyzed as...
, used partner assisted scanning to communicate and to write his book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a translation of the French memoir Le scaphandre et le papillon by journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby. It describes what his life is like after suffering a massive stroke that left him with a condition called locked-in syndrome...
.