The development of communication skills of a child with Cerebral Palsy: the role of computer software

Author(s):

Célia Ribeiro(submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2016

Network:

16. ICT in Education and Training

Format:

Poster

Session Information

16 SES 04.5 PS, General Poster Session

General Poster Session

Time:

2016-08-24

12:00-13:30

Room:

NM-Concourse Area

Chair:

Contribution

Cerebral Palsy (CP) describes a group of permanent disorders of the development of movement and posture causing activity limitation, which are attributed to non-progressive disturbances that occurred in the developing fetal or infant brain (Rosenbaum et al., 2005). Motor disorders of CP are often accompanied by disturbances of sensation, cognition, communication, and behaviour, by epilepsy, and by secondary musculoskeletal problems. Perceptin problemas are also oftenly showed (Martins, , Oliveira, & Amorim, 2008). These students typically have motor control and communication difficulties and, sometimes, in their learning process. So, they need, often, to use Assistive Technology to communicate (Oliveira, Ribeiro, & Martins, 2015).

That’s true that new technologies are widespread in today's society and schools are not an exception. However, it’s frequently unknown the best way to use it in order to enhance the process of teaching and learning in the specific case of students with CP. In this research, we aimed to verify if a support communication technology in this case, specific Portuguese computer software – BIA Project - can help a child with CP increasing her vocabulary.

Method

BIA Project, used in our research, free software that is available online, is an augmentative and alternative communication system, more specifically an assistive technology designed to be used during communicative interaction. During this research, however, we used the system as an instrument to expand the student’s vocabulary – which was really poor – and to develop her communicational attitude. We developed an intervention during seven months with a girl with CP, based on the design of single-subject research, aiming to assess the improvement her vocabulary and communication initiative. The child participated in six thematic blocks: daily activities, school, food, personal care, human body and spatial notions, according to the issues her peers were also learning. Individual interventions lasted 30 to 40 minutes and occurred twice a week. In the end of each block, evaluations were made in order to determine the number of new known words. Three months after the intervention, all themes were once again evaluated.

Expected Outcomes

In all thematic blocks, the student increased, significantly, the number of known words. Concerning relationships with peers, the child improved her communicative initiative and the number of interactions. Results allow us to conclude that the use of this particular software enabled an increasing of vocabulary, as well as the development of all her communicative process, namely child’s communicative initiative. The child's mother also said that she showed more pleasure to attending school. Once children with CP can not use, oftenly, their speech to communicate, it is important to provide an alternative communication system as soon as possible given the role that language plays in the cognitive and emotional development as well as in all of social interaction process.

References

• Hazard, D., Filho, T. & Rezende, A. (2007). Inclusão digital e social de pessoas com deficiência. Brasília: UNESCO. • Martins, I., Oliveira, A. M., Amorim, M-A. (2008). From acting to perceiving: mental rotation of body parts. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Cognitive Science, vol I, 105-106. • Oliveira, S., Martins, I. & Ribeiro, C. (2014). Information and Communication Technologies in Cerebral Palsy: what is its relevance to the development of communication and learning? Revista de Saúde Pública, 48, 151. • Oliveira, S., Ribeiro, C. & Martins, I. C. (2015). As tecnologias de informação e comunicação no contexto da paralisia cerebral: a sua pertinência para o desenvolvimento da comunicação e da aprendizagem. Gestão e Desenvolvimento, 23, 213-239. • Rosenbaum, P., Dan, B, Fabiola, R., Leviton, A., Paneth, N. Jocobson, B., Goldstein, M & Bax, M. (2005). The definition of cerebral palsy. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 47, pp. 571-574. • Rosenbaum, P., Dan, B, Fabiola, R., Leviton, A., Paneth, N. Jocobson, B., Goldstein, M., & Bax, M. (2005). The definition of cerebral palsy. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 47, pp. 571-574. • Warrick, A. (1998). Comunicación sin habla: comunicación aumentativa y alternativa alrededor del mundo. Canadá: ISAAC.

Author Information

Célia Ribeiro (submitting)

Catholic University - Viseu

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