Communication patterns of youth with mental retardation with and without their speech-output communication devices

The communication skills of 13 youth with moderate or severe mental retarda tion were compared while they communicated with a "standard partner" with a nd without access to their communication devices. When participants employe d the communication device, they were able to convey more appropriate infor mation as well as clearer and more specific information to an unfamiliar ad ult partner than they were able to convey without the device. These finding s highlight the distinct contributions the participants' use of an augmente d communication device make to the overall communicative interaction.