Social validation of interventions in augmentative and alternative communication

Social validation is the process of assessing the social significance of the goals, methods, and outcomes of interventions. Despite the increasing emphasis on stakeholder accountability, social validation is far from commonplace in our journal, Augmentative and Alternative Communication(AAC). This paper proposes a conceptual framework to assist interventionists to socially validate interventions in AAC. The author draws from related fields and existing social validation efforts in AAC to arrive at this framework. This framework includes three main components: (a) Who: stakeholder perspectives (direct, indirect, immediate community, extended community), (b) What: intervention components (goals, methods, outcomes), and (c) How: methods (subjective evaluation, social comparison). Clinical examples and studies that exemplify the intersections of this framework are presented or selectively reviewed. Interventionists may find it useful to consult this framework in planning social validations of AAC interventions.