Barriers to AAC use: How Identifying AAC Software Barriers Can Increase Communication Effectiveness for Individuals with ASD: Proloquo2Go

Kaitlyn Alavarces

Co-Presenters: Emily Morales

College: College of Health Professions and Human Services

Major: MA.SPEECH-LNGPATH

Faculty Research Mentor: Lindsay Kaffl  Iyad Ghanim

Abstract:

High‑technology augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) applications such as Proloquo2Go have become increasingly common tools for supporting communication in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Previous research has demonstrated that Proloquo2Go can reduce the level of adult support required during classroom tasks, enhance participation in academic routines, and support gains in requesting, commenting, and conversational exchanges with peers. Despite these reported benefits, speech‑language pathologists (SLPs) frequently cite key barriers, such as initial customization and a lack of clinician training, that limit effective implementation. Therefore, this study aims to identify the most common barriers of AAC software (i.e. Proloquo2Go) in the ASD population and despite these barriers, is Proloquo2Go perceived to be more useful than other software systems in terms of increasing communication outcomes. These objectives will be approached via a survey that uses a within groups design with mixed quantitative and qualitative components. The survey questions will be focused on determining clinical opinion on current AAC software by analyzing 1) Demographic Information, 2) Rate of use, 3) Software organization, 4) Perceived ease of use, 5) Perceived Generalizability, 6) Software skill set, 7) Perceived accuracy of response, and 8) Overall opinion via open-ended responses. Participants will be a minimum of 20 SLPs. Once complete, data will be analyzed based on survey responses. Based on current research, it is hypothesized that Proloquo2Go will be perceived by clinicians as reliable and highly effective AAC software for increasing functional communication outcomes, despite barriers such as the need to navigate multiple pages in these contexts. Proloquo2Go’s ability to promote generalization across settings and its demonstrated efficacy in transitioning to higher-level language tasks make it a strong candidate for software clinicians rely on when working with clients in this demographic.