AMANDA HYNAN FINAL THESIS PDF

“individuals who use AAC have clearly spoken to their interest … to use their AAC
device to ‘communicate’ with personal and mainframe computers as well as other
devices” (p. 223).
Cooper et al. (2009) in their interview study on the loneliness experienced by people
who use AAC noted
“all of the participants spoke about their experiences of using communication
technologies such as mobile phones, telephones, the Internet, and email, and agreed
that they were beneficial to maintaining positive friendships and relationships”
(p.159)
although Cooper et al. noted there were mixed experiences of success based on
challenges for access and usability. The three-way arrow within the proposed
grounded theory (Figure D) attempts to reflect the co-dependent relationship between
the causal conditions and limitations and their impact on the central phenomenon. A
desire to use the internet has to be fostered by exposure to and use of the internet and
online social media yet, once achieved, this very desire can also be frustrated if it
cannot be enacted to a perceived satisfactory level.
5.3 Causal conditions
The causal conditions within this grounded theory that have set the stage for using the
internet and online social media were identified as:
the access methods and technical innovations that have increased the
opportunities to access and use mainstream digital technology and the
integration of this into AAC devices
the human support received from families, friends and educational settings
requesting to use and evidence of using the internet and online social media by
young people who use AAC
These were evidenced by the self-reported engagement with various online activities
that has fostered the desire to use the internet and online social media. Each
participant has a unique profile in terms of individual motor skills, cognitive ability
and language/literacy development that has a bearing on how they engage with digital
technology. In terms of motor skills, some participants were able to operate
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