Date of Award

5-3-2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Sociology, MA

First Advisor

Monika Myers

Committee Members

Gretchen Hill; Veena Kulkarni

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the phenomenological experience of using an AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) device. Using qualitative methodology, I interviewed non-verbal users on how they feel about using these machine as their voice. The average interview length was 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Seven factors that non-verbal people spoke about emerged from this study which are: expenses, the positive feeling of using an AAC communication device, the quality of their communication using an AAC communication device, the stress when using an AAC device in public, how people look at the machine in public, medical issues, and the time lag. I analyzed these factors and made suggestions for future research in this field of study.

Rights Management

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Included in

Sociology Commons

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