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Faculty of Education
School of Educational Studies
Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC)
Selected Highlights from Research Findings
Traumatic brain injuries (which result from a traumatic incident such as an automobile accident or shooting incident) can lead to a variety of cognitive-communicative disorders.
Dynamic, successful individuals may suddenly find themselves unable to speak or remember things. They are sometimes also prone to emotional outbursts and fits of impulsiveness.
While the mental acuity of such individuals may be relatively unimpaired, even simple tasks such as shopping for groceries often pose formidable challenges. These challenges are exacerbated by a general lack of awareness regarding the special needs of people with cognitive-communicative disorders following a traumatic brain injury.
In a groundbreaking study by Glenn Goldblum at the University’s Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication, a training program was developed to enhance the confidence and skill of shop floor personnel in serving customers with traumatic brain injuries.
A central component of the training program is a custom-made video presentation depicting interactions between such customers and sales assistants.
The roles of the customers were not played by actors, but by people with traumatic brain injuries. These persons were actively engaged in the development of the training material as well as in the implementation of the training program.
This provided trainees with the opportunity to interact with individuals with such injuries. The video material is professionally produced, and the training program as a whole is based on established principles of adult learning and diversity awareness.
The training program was implemented with a group of sales assistants employed by a national supermarket chain. Its effectiveness was tested by having trainees complete a questionnaire before and after training.
The same questionnaires were also completed by a control group that did not receive the training. The difference that was found to exist between the two groups after one of them had received the training confirmed that the program had had a powerful effect on trainees’ attitudes towards people with traumatic brain injuries.
It had also enhanced their ability to identify barriers to communication with such customers and to select strategies for reducing these barriers. The study has laid the groundwork for more extensive research that could be generalised to the broader population of people with severe communication problems. Prof E Alant
Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication
+27 (0) 12 420 2035
erna.alant@up.ac.za
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