Icon Teacher: Stimulus Control Shaping Technology

描述(由申请者提供)：这个第二阶段的项目将完成Icon Teacher的开发，这是一款专为需要增强/替代沟通(AAC)干预的特定儿童设计的产品。在AAC系统中，没有学会说话的儿童可能会通过非语言方式对代表所需物品或活动的符号做出反应来表示想要和需要(有时称为基于选择的交流)。图标教师旨在教授某些类型的AAC交流的关键先决条件--辨别用于表示此类项目或活动的图标。出于目前的目的，图标可以被定义为物理上不相同的、在功能上等价的刺激，其可以在AAC系统内起到表示功能。图标教师将是一个计算机辅助教学程序，教授图标和真实彩色照片之间的等价关系。该计划有三个主要组成部分：(1)对儿童辨别AAC图标的准备情况的初步评估；(2)为不容易学习必要的等价关系的儿童提供的程序化教学序列；以及(3)将技能推广到教师选择的媒介(即手持设备、便携式计算机屏幕或桌面打印笔记本)。教学部分将实施新开发的刺激控制塑造方法，这些方法已被证明有效地教授等价关系。当孩子完成图标教师课程后，S将为下一阶段的AAC教学做好准备，在这一阶段，对图标的回应被确立为一种有效的功能沟通方法。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This Phase II project will complete the development of Icon Teacher, a product intended for certain children who require augmentative/alternative communication (AAC) intervention. In AAC systems, children who have not learned to speak may indicate wants and needs by responding nonverbally to symbols that represent desired items or activities (sometimes called "selection-based communication"). Icon Teacher is intended to teach a critical prerequisite for some types of AAC communication - discrimination of icons that are used to represent such items or activities. For present purposes, icons may be defined as physically nonidentical, functionally equivalent stimuli that can serve a representational function within an AAC system. Icon Teacher will be a computer-assisted instructional program to teach equivalence relations between icons and realistic color photographs. The program has three major components: (1) an initial assessment of child readiness for discriminating AAC icons; (2) a programmed instructional sequence for children who do not readily learn the requisite equivalence relations; and (3) a generalization component for skills to a medium selected by the teacher (i.e., handheld device, portable computer screen, or tabletop printed notebook). The instructional component will implement newly developed stimulus control shaping methods that have been shown to teach equivalence relations effectively. When the child completes the Icon Teacher program, s/he will be prepared for the next stage of AAC instruction in which response to the icons is established as an effective method of functional communication.