Using a Computer Intervention to Support Phonological Awareness Development of Nonspeaking Adults
Ha Trinh · 2011 · The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011) · doi:10.1145/2049536.2049632
Summary
This short paper presents a pilot study investigating whether a computer-based intervention delivered on an iPad can help adults with severe speech and physical impairments (SSPI) develop phonological awareness — the ability to identify and manipulate the sound structure of language, which is a critical precursor to literacy. Adults with SSPI frequently experience difficulties with literacy acquisition, yet most phonological awareness interventions have been designed for children and rely on paper-based materials that require speech and language pathologists to manage. The author developed an iPad application based on the 42 phonemes from the Jolly Phonics literacy programme. The app features a "Word Creation" game in which learners listen to spoken words, segment them into individual phonemes, and drag-and-drop the correct phonemes to build the word. If an incorrect phoneme is selected it snaps back to its original position, and once all phonemes are placed correctly, the software blends them together in sequence. Three adults with cerebral palsy, aged 46 to 54, with varying literacy levels participated. Cognitive ability was assessed using Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices, and working memory was measured via an adapted Digit Span test. The participants completed seven weekly intervention sessions of 30-45 minutes each, with a pre- and post-intervention assessment battery of eight tasks covering letter knowledge, letter-sound correspondence, spelling, reading, blending, phoneme analysis, and phoneme counting.
Key findings
Preliminary results for the first participant to complete the full intervention showed improvements in six of eight assessment tasks. Letter-sound correspondence improved from 72.0% to 100%, blending real words from 80.0% to 100%, phoneme analysis from 58.3% to 83.3%, and phoneme counting from 8.3% to 25.0%. Reading real words improved from 72.5% to 80.0%, and letter name knowledge from 84.6% to 88.5%. Spelling real words remained unchanged at 5.0%, and blending non-words declined slightly from 70.0% to 65.0%. The participant's working memory deficit may have contributed to the difficulty with phoneme counting. Notably, the participant improved on reading and letter-sound correspondence despite letters not being explicitly introduced during the intervention — the phoneme-focused training transferred to letter-based skills. All participants provided highly positive feedback about the iPad software, supporting the use of mainstream consumer technologies as accessible learning platforms for people with SSPI.
Relevance
This study is significant for accessibility practitioners because it demonstrates that mainstream tablet technology can be effectively repurposed as an accessible learning tool for adults with complex disabilities. Rather than requiring expensive specialist equipment, the iPad app provided an independent learning experience with minimal instructor involvement — an important consideration for reducing the burden on speech and language pathologists and promoting learner autonomy. The finding that phonological awareness training can transfer to literacy improvements in adults with SSPI challenges assumptions that such interventions are only effective for children. For developers building educational accessibility tools, the design pattern of drag-and-drop with automatic correction feedback and sequential audio blending offers a model for creating self-directed learning interfaces. The small sample size (three participants) limits generalisability, but the positive preliminary results warrant larger-scale studies with controlled designs.
Tags: phonological awareness · literacy · severe speech and physical impairments · computer-based intervention · iPad · cerebral palsy · AAC · mainstream technology