Effectiveness and utility of visual scene displays (Thistle & Thiessen, 2021)

Purpose: The aims of this research study were to describe the perspectives of clinicians and researchers regarding the effectiveness of visual scene displays (VSDs) as communication supports in order to inform the translation of research to clinical practice.

Method: An online survey was completed by 298 clinicians and nine VSD researchers. Participants rated the effectiveness of VSDs in supporting a variety of communication functions and their strength of agreement regarding statements of VSD utility.

Results: Regardless of population served, clinicians and researchers rated VSDs as effective at supporting a range of communication functions. Participants also tended to agree with statements of VSD utility.

Conclusions: The current study highlights the perceptions of clinicians and researchers regarding the uses and benefits of VSDs for adults and children with complex communication needs and provides an initial measure of the current translation of research to clinical practice. Results indicate that VSDs can be used to support a variety of communication functions and utilities; however, further work is necessary to explore additional communication functions and delineate similarities and differences of VSD uses for differing populations.

Supplemental Material S1. Survey of SLP clinicians and VSD researchers.

Thistle, J., & Thiessen, A. (2021). Effectiveness and utility of visual scene displays as communication supports for adults and children with complex communication needs: Perspectives of clinicians and researchers. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_AJSLP-20-00229