Stop, Look and Listen! When Vocal and Nonvocal Adults Communicate

This study focuses on the communicative interactions of three nonvocal, physically disabled adults who use an augmentative device in place of speech with their vocal peers, teachers, families, and friends. Using an ethnographic perspective, audio-visual equipment and field notes were used to record interactions occurring in naturalistic settings. Three aspects of the communication interaction interfere systematically with the quality of the interaction: the perceptions of the nondisabled communication partners regarding disability; patterns of speech resembling adult-child interactions; and the unwillingness of some nondisabled people to communicate. Issues of power and control are suggested as possible causes. The success of the communication act may lie not in the sophistication of the augmentative device, but rather in the willingness of the communication partner to accept the nonvocal person as a capable communication partner.