Dynamic displays and peer interaction: A comparison

Abstract

This was a study designed to compare the use of a visual scene display (VSD) versus a grid display on an electronic communication device by children with developmental disabilities during dramatic play sessions while interacting with typically developing peers. Using an alternating treatments design, three children between the ages of 3;9 and 4;5 with diagnosed developmental disabilities, language delays, and sufficient motor skills to directly select items on a touch screen were participants in this study. Three children between the ages of 4;1 and 7;11 who were typically developing participated in this study as peer playmates. Each participant completed 8 treatment sessions using 2 different play themes, 4 play sessions per theme. Each display type was given 15 minutes of use and then alternated with the other display type. The first two sessions of each theme were teaching sessions with the researcher. The second 2 sessions of each theme included a peer in which data was taken on the number of activations each participant made for each display type. Each participant activated each display type throughout the course of intervention and fluctuated their number of activations for both display types. Across all participants, each participant appeared to favor one display type over another, with Participants 1 and 3 favoring the grid while Participant 2 favored the visual scene display. The data revealed that over time, the visual scene display was used more frequently than the grid display.