Communication partners' experiences of using augmentative and alternative communication with persons with severe/profound intellectual disability

Simple item page
dc.check.date2027-12-31
dc.contributor.advisorLehane, Elaine
dc.contributor.advisorMartin, Anne-Marie
dc.contributor.advisorDalton O'Connor, Caroline
dc.contributor.authorHanley, Edinaen
dc.contributor.funderUniversity College Cork
dc.date.accessioned2024-09-26T10:44:02Z
dc.date.available2024-09-26T10:44:02Z
dc.date.issued2024en
dc.date.submitted2024
dc.description.abstractAim: To obtain an in-depth understanding of communication partners’ experiences of communicating with people with severe/profound intellectual disability through augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Background: Individuals with severe/profound intellectual disability experience significant communication challenges. They require additional support to ensure their potential is recognised and realised and communication needs are met. AAC offers people with complex communication needs, including those with severe/profound intellectual disability, more opportunities, and ways to communicate. The success of AAC relies upon the individual and their communication partners using AAC. However, communication with people with severe/profound intellectual disability through AAC is not straightforward. Many challenges can arise and become barriers to optimising AAC interventions. Given their fundamental role in interacting with and supporting individuals with severe/profound intellectual disability to communicate, understanding communication partners’ experience is essential to promote effective and efficient use of AAC. Therefore, this study explores communication partners’ experiences of using AAC with persons with severe/profound intellectual disability to contribute to knowledge, evidence and to inform practice in this area. Method: A multimethod approach was adopted, where various research methods were used to answer associated research questions at each stage of the research, to address the overall aim (Anguera et al., 2018). A mixed methods systematic review (MMSR) explored communication partners’ experiences of communicating with adults with severe/profound intellectual disability through AAC. A qualitative descriptive approach was utilised to address the gap identified in the MMSR and explored communication partners’ perceptions of their roles and responsibilities in the design, planning and use of AAC with persons with severe/profound intellectual disability. The findings of the qualitative descriptive study indicated that multiple factors influenced communication partners’ use of AAC and identified the need for an integrative review. The integrative review aimed to identify and understand the factors affecting communication partners’ use of AAC. The findings from the qualitative descriptive study and integrative review indicated that the factors influencing use of AAC were interconnected. However, the nature and extent of their interconnections remained unclear. Therefore, a cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational study was developed and undertaken to gain a more nuanced understanding of the factors influencing the intention of communication partners to use AAC with this population. The study was underpinned by a theoretical framework; the Combined Technology Acceptance Model and Theory of Planned Behaviour (C-TAM-TPB), which brought the factors influencing the use of AAC together to test specific hypotheses related to the interconnections between these factors. Survey methods were used to collect data, the survey items tested the constructs of the C-TAM-TPB. Findings: The results of the MMSR and the qualitative descriptive study highlighted the importance of a shared commitment to the communication partnership to support the use of AAC. However, the results of the MMSR indicated that there was a disconnect between communication partners’perceptions of their roles and responsibilities in the design, planning and use of AAC, which posed as a barrier to effective and efficient use. Participants in the qualitative descriptive study took ownership of their roles and responsibilities and respected the roles and responsibilities of other communication partners of the individual they supported. They established a reciprocal relationship to work together and share their expertise to achieve a shared goal, maximise communication through AAC. Despite such commitment, AAC was not optimised to maximise the ability of the individual to communicate. Multiple factors influenced the extent to which AAC was used. Some factors were recurring in each stage of the research and appeared to be interconnected. The integrative review established potential interconnections between the factors influencing the use of AAC, adding to the complexity of factors influencing the optimisation of AAC. The quantitative study identified the nature and extent of the interconnections between the factors influencing communication partners’ intention to use AAC. The findings confirmed those of the literature, where positive relationships existed between the constructs of the C-TAM-TPB. Moreover, some factors carried greater influence than others. Perceived usefulness (p value=0.000 and β=0.253, Wald’s Chi-square χ2=27.5) and perceived ease of use both had a significant impact (p=0.007, β=0.145, Wald’s χ2=7.2) on attitude towards using AAC. Attitude (p value=0.000 and β=0.528, Wald’s χ2=20.8) and perceived behavioural control (p value=0.000 and β=0.332, Wald’s χ2=16.8) had a significant impact on behavioural intention. Conclusion: The study findings indicate that communication partners were committed to communicating with the individual they supported. This commitment was evidenced through attempts to realise their shared goal, maximising communication. Their commitment fuelled their perseverance. However, AAC was not always optimised, and communication partners attempted to reach and realise their shared goal in the context of uncertainty. The extent to which AAC was used by communication partners was impacted by multiple, interconnected factors that must be considered collectively. Factors were both internal to communication partners, such as attitudes and beliefs, while others were environmental. They experienced competing demands that posed as an impediment to their use of AAC.
dc.description.statusNot peer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationHanley, E. 2024. Communication partners' experiences of using augmentative and alternative communication with persons with severe/profound intellectual disability. PhD Thesis, University College Cork.
dc.identifier.endpage359
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/16453
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherUniversity College Corken
dc.relation.projectUniversity College Cork (School of Nursing and Midwifery)
dc.rights© 2024, Edina Hanley.
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
dc.subjectAugmentative and alternative communication
dc.subjectCommunication partners
dc.subjectSevere intellectual disability
dc.subjectProfound intellectual disability
dc.subjectProfound intellectual and multiple disability
dc.titleCommunication partners' experiences of using augmentative and alternative communication with persons with severe/profound intellectual disability
dc.typeDoctoral thesisen
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoralen
dc.type.qualificationnamePhD - Doctor of Philosophyen
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
Thumbnail Image
Name:
HanleyEM_PhD2024.pdf
Size:
4.88 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Full Text E-thesis
Thumbnail Image
Name:
HanleyEM_PhD2024.docx
Size:
8.23 MB
Format:
Microsoft Word XML
Description:
Full Text E-thesis (Word)
Thumbnail Image
Name:
HanleyEM_Submission for examination form.pdf
Size:
216.39 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
5.2 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
Research Theses
College of Medicine and Health - Doctoral Theses
Nursing and Midwifery - Doctoral Theses