2 ר‡ל ˘ - י ˜ ון ‡ייז ˙ נ ˘ 2023 English Abstracts Brain-Computer Interface integrated into the AAC field Nitzan Cohen Alterna�ve Augmenta�ve Communica�on (AAC) represents a variety of tools and methods that make communica�on accessible for people with complex communica�on needs. All AAC modes require voluntary movement and muscle control. What can be done if the only thing a person can control is their brain? How can one operate AAC devices under these condi�ons? Well, there is a solu�on! BCI: Brain Computer Interface. BCI is an advanced technology that makes communica�on through brain signals possible. The computer can't read thoughts, of course, but it can detect brain ac�vity. The person thinks a certain thought, and the computer reads and translates it into a command on the AAC system. The ar�cle reviews two types of interfaces: non- invasive BCI and intrusive BCI. The ar�cle describes the adap�ng process of the system to the AAC user, percep�ons of BCI users to its use, and discusses the ques�on of the reliability of the method and issues of legal liability and privacy of use. The ar�cle discusses challenges that users and their communica�on partners face, such as inconvenience in use, cost of equipment, and slow communica�on rate. Future research ques�ons are raised. The purpose of the ar�cle is to expose AAC users and professionals to a way of communica�on that as of now is s�ll a last resort solu�on, but in the future might be a worthy and acceptable choice. How do Augmenta�ve and Alterna�ve Communica�on users deal with lexical voids? Hadas Vinder (Shtessman), Tal Lebel This is the abstract of a manuscript in Hebrew published in a special issue of the Israeli journal of language, speech, and hearing disorders DASH BARESHET, volume 40, pages 43-66, 2021. This special issue is dedicated to the memory of Professor Irit Meir, an inspiring senior researcher and lecturer in communica�on sciences and disorders and Hebrew language at the University of Haifa. Augmenta�ve and Alterna�ve Communica�on (AAC) enables people with complex communica�on needs to ac�vely par�cipate in daily life situa�ons. However, AAC places constraints that do not exist in natural languages, one of which is the limited vocabulary available to the users in most AAC aids. People who communicate using AAC o�en encounter situa�ons of lexical voids that occur when necessary words are missing in the aids. The study iden�fied the strategies of AAC users when they encounter lexical voids and analyzed the gramma�cal structure of their u�erances. Addi�onally, it compared these characteris�cs to those of individuals with typical development in similar situa�ons. Furthermore, the study evaluated and compared the communica�ve efficiency of both groups in these specific contexts. Six experienced AAC users and six people with typical development used the same AAC aids to perform a naming task of items that did not appear on the aids. All produc�ons were analyzed according to three parameters: strategies employed to explain the missing words, syntac�c structure of the produc�ons and their communica�ve efficiency. Similari�es and differences were found between the groups which were then explored in light of the “deficiency hypothesis” and the “specific modality hypothesis”. Both explain the “unique” linguis�c products of AAC users. Despite the limita�ons of their devices, AAC users demonstrated impressive and crea�ve abili�es to explain words that were unavailable for them. That proved the existence of a richer internal lexicon than the external lexicon represented in AAC systems. Yet, communica�on through symbol-based aids is very slow, and is largely based on co-construc�on of u�erances by the users and their communica�on partners.
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