JCPSLP Vol 14 No 2 2012

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Complex communication needs
JCPSLP Volume 14, Number 2 2012 69
Sally Clendon
(top) and
Marleen
Westerveld
This article
has been
peer-
reviewed
Keywords
AUGMENTATIVE
AND ALTERNATIVE
COMMUNICATION
LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT
VOCABULARY
WRITING
selected topics. In the first few years of school, students
are frequently asked to choose their own writing topics
(Richards & Sturm, 2010). Research examining the
vocabulary used when students write on self-selected
topics provides insight into what students do naturally
as beginning writers. One of these studies (Clendon &
Erickson, 2008) included NZ children.
The current project used two datasets to compare the
spoken and written vocabularies of typically developing 5-,
6-, and 7-year-old NZ children. This is the first project to
compare the vocabulary used across the modalities for the
purpose of informing vocabulary selection in AAC. The aim
was to identify similarities and differences between spoken
and written communication and to generate word lists
to assist AAC professionals as they engage in selecting,
prioritising, and organising vocabulary to support both face-
to-face and written communication in children with complex
communication needs.
Methodology
Written language database
The writing samples were obtained as part of the first
author’s dissertation research (see Clendon & Erickson,
2008). The participants included 106 children: 31 aged 5
years, 49 aged 6 years, and 26 aged 7 years. The children
were recruited from three NZ primary schools. They were in
the classrooms of teachers who provided regular (at least
three times per week) opportunities for children to write
about self-selected topics. All writing samples ( n = 1225),
produced during self-selected writing sessions over a
6-week period, were photocopied for analysis. The
teachers were asked to provide translations of any
handwriting or spelling attempts that were unclear or
unconventional. The teachers were also asked to complete
context logs with descriptions of events that may have
influenced children’s writing topics and vocabulary.
Spoken language database
The spoken samples were collected as part of a NZ
database project (Westerveld, Gillon, & Miller, 2004). The
participants included 216 children: 63 aged 5 years, 95
aged 6 years, and 58 aged 7 years. All children were seen
at their kindergarten or school and engaged in a
conversation with an adult using the Westerveld and Gillon
Language Sampling Protocol (Westerveld & Gillon, 2002). In
this protocol, prompts are used to encourage the child to
talk about an object of his/her choice, family, and everyday
activities.
This project used two datasets to compare
the spoken and written vocabularies of
typically developing 5-, 6-, and 7-year-old
New Zealand children. Similarities and
differences between spoken and written
words and multiword sequences were
identified, and word lists were generated that
can be used to assist augmentative and
alternative communication (AAC)
professionals as they engage in selecting
vocabulary to support both face-to-face and
written communication of children with
complex communication needs.
Vocabulary selection is one of the greatest challenges
facing professionals in the augmentative and
alternative communication (AAC) field (Clendon,
2006). Ensuring that children with complex communication
needs have access to the rich and varied vocabularies that
they need in order to develop mature language and literacy
skills is a difficult and often overwhelming process (Clendon
& Erickson, 2008).
Several authors have suggested that AAC professionals
employ a variety of strategies to guide their decision-making
around vocabulary selection (e.g., Beukelman, Jones, &
Rowan, 1989; Fallon, Light, & Paige, 2001). One strategy is
to refer to the word lists generated from research examining
the vocabularies of typically developing children. A number
of studies have examined the spoken vocabularies of
typically developing children for the purpose of informing
vocabulary selection in AAC (e.g., Ball, Marvin, Beukelman,
Lasker, & Rupp, 1999; Banajee, Dicarlo, & Stricklin, 2003;
Beukelman et al.,1989; Crestani, Clendon, & Hemsley,
2010; Fallon et al., 2001; Fried-Oken & More, 1992; Marvin,
Beukelman, & Bilyeu, 1994; Trembath, Balandin, & Togher,
2007). These studies have elicited samples across a variety
of linguistic contexts, such as playtime and mealtime, and
in response to oral narrative tasks. None of these studies
have included New Zealand (NZ) children.
In addition, three studies (Clendon & Erickson, 2008;
Clendon, Sturm, & Cali, 2012; McGinnis & Beukelman,
1989) have examined the written vocabularies of typically
developing children. In McGinnis and Beukelman (1989),
the writing samples were taken from letter writing
activities, science project assignments, and/or language
arts assignments. In Clendon and Erickson (2008) and
Clendon et al. (2012), the writing samples were on self-
Research note
Comparing spoken and written vocabulary use in typically
developing children: Informing vocabulary selection for
children with complex communication needs
Sally Clendon and Marleen Westerveld