ABSTRACT
Technology has been developed to assist those with physical impairments to communicate. People with a congenital or acquired inability to control the organs of speech, but who are otherwise cognitively unimpaired, are able to make use of computer-produced speech controlled by specially designed interfaces. Such systems are a form of what is termed Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). The aim of all the utterance-based supported communication, as described above, is to try to enable a person who uses AAC to produce appropriate utterances at the right time for use in conversation. A multidisciplinary team of psychologists, designers, and software engineers have developed a system called CIRCA, which supports communication in dementia. A communication support system for people with aphasia, called Lingraphica, has been developed based on accessing language through pictures, icons, and scenes depicting everyday objects and activities. Our ability to use language is a primary skill employed in social interaction, and we are a social species.
