Improving the Design of AAC Displays: Preliminary Study of the Effects of Targeted Motion and Decluttering on Visual Attention and Symbol Learning by Individuals with Down Syndrome
4 affiliations
- 1The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
- 2Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
- 3University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
- 4Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, USA
Abstract
This study investigates the effects of targeted motion (i.e., smooth movement of a selected AAC symbol from its location to the center of the display) and decluttering of the AAC display on visual fixation duration and accuracy of symbol identification by participants with Down syndrome across three sessions. In each session, participants were first asked to find a target symbol in a grid display with and without targeted motion of selected symbols; data on their visual fixation duration were collected using the Tobii Spectrum Pro. Then they were asked to identify target picture symbols from a unique grid in response to the spoken name of the symbol. Visual fixation duration to target symbols was significantly greater in the condition with targeted motion and decluttering of the display compared to the static display condition across all three sessions. It was difficult for many participants to identify symbols accurately in both of the display conditions; participants demonstrated continued improvements across the three sessions with targeted motion displays while their performance seemed to plateau with the static displays that mimic those used in current practice. Targeted motion may be a powerful tool to increase visual attention to key aspects of AAC displays, but further investigation is required to fully understand how to harness motion to support learning and use of AAC displays.
Related
- Effects of sensorimotor training combined with short foot exercise on knee and ankle gait kinematics in individuals with flatfoot : A preliminary study
- Preliminary molecular characterization of Blastocystis sp. subtypes among IBS patients and non-IBS individuals in Hamadan Province, western Iran
- Preliminary clinical changes during use of a personalized video-based mobile intervention for community-dwelling individuals with severe mental illness: An exploratory randomized crossover trial
- SSLD-DET: improving symbol detection in station signalling layout drawings with multi-scale feature fusion and advanced attention mechanisms
- Improving explainability of attention-based deep learning models for thermal analysis systems
BibTeX
@article{sowers2026improving,
title = {{Improving the Design of AAC Displays: Preliminary Study of the Effects of Targeted Motion and Decluttering on Visual Attention and Symbol Learning by Individuals with Down Syndrome}},
author = {Dawn J. Sowers and Savanna Brittlebank and Holly Panfil and Olivia McAllister and Bethany Frick Semmler and Krista Wilkinson and Janice Light},
journal = {Augmentative and alternative communication (Baltimore, Md. : 1985)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1080/07434618.2026.2748035},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/07434618.2026.2748035},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Improving the Design of AAC Displays: Preliminary Study of the Effects of Targeted Motion and Decluttering on Visual Attention and Symbol Learning by Individuals with Down Syndrome
AU - Dawn J. Sowers
AU - Savanna Brittlebank
AU - Holly Panfil
AU - Olivia McAllister
AU - Bethany Frick Semmler
AU - Krista Wilkinson
AU - Janice Light
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
JO - Augmentative and alternative communication (Baltimore, Md. : 1985)
DO - 10.1080/07434618.2026.2748035
UR - https://doi.org/10.1080/07434618.2026.2748035
AB - This study investigates the effects of targeted motion (i.e., smooth movement of a selected AAC symbol from its location to the center of the display) and decluttering of the AAC display on visual fixation duration and accuracy of symbol identification by participants with Down syndrome across three sessions. In each session, participants were first asked to find a target symbol in a grid display with and without targeted motion of selected symbols; data on their visual fixation duration were collected using the Tobii Spectrum Pro. Then they were asked to identify target picture symbols from a unique grid in response to the spoken name of the symbol. Visual fixation duration to target symbols was significantly greater in the condition with targeted motion and decluttering of the display compared to the static display condition across all three sessions. It was difficult for many participants to identify symbols accurately in both of the display conditions; participants demonstrated continued improvements across the three sessions with targeted motion displays while their performance seemed to plateau with the static displays that mimic those used in current practice. Targeted motion may be a powerful tool to increase visual attention to key aspects of AAC displays, but further investigation is required to fully understand how to harness motion to support learning and use of AAC displays.
SN - 0743-4618
SN - 1477-3848
ER -