Background: This study describes the social organization of evaluation activities in tests of robot-assisted walking involving young adults with mobility impairments. It shows how professionals and young adults with reduced gait function collaboratively conduct assessments regarding the robot's impact on their walking patterns. Method: Through an ethnomethodological and conversation analytic approach, the study focuses on how the participants in robot-assisted walking make sense of and establish a shared understanding of bodily and robotic movements, partly achieved by relying on the body being evaluated, which is also impaired. The study is based on video recordings from two different settings. Results: The participants use assessments to make experienced or observed mobility issues publicly available, which enables accommodations for full and comfortable participation. The article shows that the sequential organization of the assessments depends on when they appear and who initiates them and that the impairment may influence how the actions within the assessment sequences are carried out. Finally, the organization of the assessments is influenced by the mobility impairment in that the body may not always be relied on for communication. For example, an external force such as a robot makes walking more challenging. Discussion and conclusion: This study suggests that mobility impairments influence the accomplishment of an intersubjective understanding in evaluation activities, which highlights the need for further research on how mobility impairments influence everyday interaction.
Students who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems experience participation barriers in fast-paced classroom discussions due to the extensive time required to compose and formulate contributions with AAC relative to spoken language. One instructional practice educators use is to call on a student who uses an AAC system to prepare a contribution while instruction continues and then come back for the student's response later. The principles of conversation analysis were used to record, transcribe, and analyze use of this call-on-and-come-back practice by a teacher and a speech and language pathologist during group instruction with a boy who used AAC. Using a participation framework, the analysis suggests the call-on-and-come-back practice did little to address the participation barriers and instead introduced new challenges to participation using an AAC system. Given that this practice promoted student exclusion, disengagement from the group discourse, competing demands for attention, and missed learning opportunities, caution should be used when considering its use with children who use AAC systems.
Aphasia impacts relationships by altering communication dynamics, potentially leading to emotional disconnection or, alternatively, bringing partners closer as they support each other through challenges. The study aimed to describe how partners in a relationship perceive the impact of aphasia on their communication interactions. Five couples participated in this qualitative case study design, each comprising a partner with chronic stroke-related aphasia. Initial brief intake surveys were conducted followed by in-depth interviews. Five main themes were constructed through thematic analysis: aphasia alters conversational role dynamics and interactions; couples employ strategies to overcome communication challenges; communication difficulties lead to conflict and hinder resolution; partners of a couple experience diverse emotional reactions to the effects of aphasia; and perceptions of support differ between partners of a couple. Speech-language pathologists play a key role in restoring a more balanced distribution of listener–speaker roles in couples' communication post-aphasia. Understanding both partners' emotional reactions to communication challenges can better equip healthcare professionals to manage these within relationships, ensuring couple-centered care.
This paper is a partial result of the Interteach project, a national study based on a Swedish survey regarding interaction and evidence-based methods in teaching of pupils 7–16 years of age in the Swedish compulsory school for pupils with intellectual disabilities (ID). The study aims to quantitatively investigate the teachers’ views on interaction and to what extent pupils in Swedish compulsory schools for pupils with ID (focusing on pupils with autism spectrum disorder [ASD]) are given the opportunity to interact with other people in their daily education, according to the teachers’ reports. Some qualitative data are also included, generated via an open-ended question in the survey. To the best of our knowledge this is the first Swedish study that aims to unpack this practice. The majority of the teachers in the study find the use of communication maps in interaction important (87%), while 67% find the use of speech-generating devices (SGD) in interaction important. Another finding of this study is that 95% of the teachers in the study state that it is of great importance that pupils with ASD interact with their surroundings, while 39% describe the pupils’ involvement in interaction as being restricted in practice. The open-ended question reveals that the participants view a combination of methods as useful in improving speech, language, and interaction. The results indicate that the teachers believe that interaction is important and, in addition, are positive toward the use of augmentative and alternative communication. This fact is also established via answers to the open-ended question, in which teachers discuss the importance of relationship building and using empathy, knowledge, and understanding in their work. However, there may be a paradox present, manifested through a discrepancy between the teachers’ views and practice. Among the participants, 39% describe pupils’ involvement in interaction during the school day as restricted. Another finding is that in Sweden as a whole, about 26% state that using SGD for pupils with ASD is not important (compared to communication maps, which are considered unimportant by 10% of the population), although about 95% state that it is important for pupils with ASD to interact with others.
Background The article addresses the role of sight and blindness in a multisensory museum experience for visually impaired persons and their sighted assistants. Although this museum is not specifically tailored to visually impaired visitors, the haptic access to all the exhibited objects represents new opportunities for them, which makes the museum visit a perspicuous activity to study sensoriality in interaction. Within a material ecology designed to appeal to all the senses, what are the consequences of not seeing and engaging primarily with senses other than sight? Methods Based on video recordings of museum visits and using ethnomethodology and conversation analysis (EM/CA) to approach multimodality and sensoriality, this study examines the multisensorial practices of visually impaired visitors and how they engage with sighted companions to maximize the opportunities provided by haptic access. Results Focusing on the particular practice of a sighted person guiding the hand of the visually impaired person, this study shows how participants reinterrogate the observable effects of the primacy of sight, the opportunities for haptic and auditory sensorial experiences, and their praxeological and intersubjective consequences. Discussion/conclusions The article highlights conceptual issues of multisensoriality, co-sensoriality, and sensory impairment in EM/CA, with a special focus on materiality, embodiment, and intersubjectivity.
