Utvärdering av samtalsmatta som kommunikationsstöd i grupp för personer med Huntingtons sjukdom
Alternativ och kompletterande kommunikationHuntingtons sjukdomSamtalsmattaGruppKommunikationseffektivitetAugmentative and Alternative CommunicationHuntington's diseaseTalkning MatsGroupsEffectivness of communication
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the function of TalkingMats in a group of people with Huntington?s disease, with main focus on theeffectiveness of communication. Four individuals with Huntington?s diseaseand their group leader participated in the study. The group was videotapedduring four sets of conversations; two with and two without Talking Mats. Amixed method quantitative and qualitative study was carried out by evaluatingthe conversations with the protocol Effectiveness Framework of FunctionalCommunication; by analyzing the number of follow-up questions andoverlapping utterances; and by interviewing the participants and the groupleader. The results showed improved effectiveness of communication for allparticipants and increased number of follow-up questions from both participantsand from the group leader, suggesting that Talking Mats is useful inmultiparty interaction for persons with Huntington?s disease. Further researchis required in order to be able to generalize the results.