Outline. Ra<onale. How does this apply to AAC? Working memory in intellectual/ developmental disabili<es: AAC Implica<ons AAC 7/30/12

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1 Outline Working memory in intellectual/ developmental disabili<es: AAC Implica<ons Jennifer Thistle, M.S., CCC- SLP Krista Wilkinson, Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University Why does working memory maqer in AAC? What is working memory? Demands of communica<on in general The role of working memory Working memory research with children with Down syndrome What do we do now? Ra<onale Examples of tasks that u<lize working memory: Following direc<ons to drive to a new loca<on Remembering a person s name so you can introduce that person to someone else Remembering a phone number or web address while you search for a pen and paper to write it down How does this apply to AAC? How much of the wheel do we need to re- create? WM AAC 1

2 Ra<onale Examples of AAC related tasks that require working memory Remembering both the intended message and keeping track of each symbol needed to build that message Learning the name of a new toy and finding it s symbol on a grid And more Working memory holds informa<on while you re preparing to do something with that informa<on. STM Working Memory LTM Both short term memory and long term memory interact with working memory Mul<- component model of Working Memory (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974; Baddeley, 2007) Phonological Loop Central Execu<ve Episodic Buffer Visuo- spa<al Sketchpad What do we know about working memory in general? Capacity Increases with age Low capacity never catches up Long term memory Digit Span image: Simon image: Gathercole & Alloway,

3 As task demands increase, resources decrease Resource alloca<on Distrac<ons Overload Task itself Adequacy of Resources Communica<ng calls upon cogni<ve abili<es, including working memory. Pay aqen<on Process input Block out distrac<ons Keep in mind what I want to say Task Demands Fried- Oken & Light, AAC- RERC 2012 SOSC Ac<vate oral musculature hqp:// policy- and- poli<cs/the- global- search- for- educa<on- on- success/ AAC taps the same cogni<ve abili<es as spoken communica<on but the device itself introduces demands. Spoken communica<on Pay aqen<on to conversa<on Keep in mind what you want to say Listen to others Block out distrac<ng input Ac<vate oral musculature PLUS manage AAC device Opera<ng the device Naviga<on Temporal Social interac<on Managing the AAC device relies on visual modality Advantages: Display allow for use of recogni<on memory More permanent than the spoken word Poten<al gross motor rather than fine motor movements crayon hqp://splh.ku.edu/clinics/schclinic/speech.shtml 3

4 Managing the AAC device relies on visual modality Disadvantages Opera<ng the device Naviga<ng Temporal aspects Social interac<ons Unique AAC Demands: Geing ready to say something. I need to turn my talker on. And wait. I want to say something. Image from: And remember what I want to say while I wait. Unique AAC Demands: Accessing the vocabulary to construct my message. Unique AAC Demands: Naviga<on I want to talk about the deer Where is deer? The access method will place demands on working memory. 4

5 Naviga<on Naviga<on I s<ll want to talk about the deer I s<ll want to talk about the deer Where is deer? Where is deer? Unique AAC Demands: Length of <me Navigated through 5 pages to ac<vate DEER Unique AAC Demands: Social interac<ons Managing topic shims Coordina<ng aqen<on between topic of conversa<on, partner, and device. 5

6 Measuring short term memory and working memory Visuospa<al short term and working memory in children with Down syndrome. STM Research omen measures short term memory in service of learning more about working memory. LTM Working Memory Task Corsi block (Simon) Bead memory Digit search Matches TD: mental age &/or gender and SES WS: chronological age and IQ TD: mental age & maternal educa<on TD: verbal mental age Outcome Intact performance across all tasks and comparison groups. Verbal short term and working memory in children with Down syndrome , 6, 2, , 1, , 5 Task Digit span Word span Sentence span Digit reconstruc<on Matches TD: verbal and/or nonverbal MA WS: CA & IQ or verbal & nonverbal TD: mental age and gender and SES TD: nonverbal mental age or MLU TD: verbal mental age Outcome Reduced performance across all tasks and comparison groups. Assessing working memory in AAC related tasks (Wagner et al., 2011) AAC task Iden<fy symbols Locate symbols Sequence symbols Iden%fy + Locate + Sequence Cogni4ve Science Object Recall recall Loca<on recall Temporal processing Feature binding 1st 3rd 5th College 6

7 How can we respond? Reduce the demands, even for a child who can do a task. If we can make the task easier we can speed up the communica<on or free up cogni<ve resources to help foster greater competence in other areas. How can we respond? Assess WM in individual with complex communica<on needs Iden<fy characteris<cs Provide interven<on to support op<mal func<oning of WM system Acknowledgements Janice Light, Carol Miller, Barry Wagner, Melanie Fried- Oken Hintz Family Endowment in Children s Communica<ve Competence US Department of Educa<on Training Grant #H325D11008 Next project: Online survey for SLPs on the topic of Designing AAC Displays hqp://aac.psu.edu/?p=1085 7