Sigurd Pilesjö, M. (2013). On the use of bodily action and vocalizations as resources and methods when claiming turns in aided interaction. In N. Norén, C. Samuelsson, & C. Plejert (Eds.), Aided communication in everyday interaction (pp. 59–94). J&R Press.
This study examined the multimodal use of embodied and linguistic resources of an 8;6-year-old boy with cerebral palsy during pre-beginnings and post-completions of aided turns while interacting with adult and peer communication partners. The boy used a light pointer attached to his glasses in order to indicate Blissymbols. In order to claim a turn, the boy used gaze to secure the attention of his communication partners and gaze to shift their orientation to the communication board. The boy used a sequence of embodied resources during the pre-beginning (e.g., open mouth, gaze shift to partner, mutual gaze, gaze shift to communication board) to claim a turn with a peer when the communication board was on the table, but the boy used fewer embodied resources (e.g., gaze shift) to claim a turn with an adult assistant when the board was held in front of the boy by the assistant. When the peer did not respond to initial attempts for redirection of orientation, the aided communicator used multimodal intensity (i.e., four repetitions), multimodal complexity (i.e., vocalizations, gestures, attention-getting actions), and multimodal upgrading (i.e., initially vocalizing softly, to hitting the board, to hitting the board, waving and vocalizing) until a response was elicited. The boy’s use of gaze direction and smiling to project completion of communication board-mediated turn were treated as post-completion signals by the assistant.