The Development of a Universal Tangible Symbol System

Abstract

Tangible symbols are objects or partial objects with qualities, such as shape, texture, and consistency (Trief, 2007), that can be used to represent a person, place, object, activity, or concept. They can be handled and share a perceptual relationship with what they represent, known as the referent (Werner & Kaplan, 1988). The following terms, drawn from the literature, are synonymous with tangible symbols: object cues (Lancioni, O'Reilly, & Oliva, 2002; Westling & Fox, 2004), objects of reference (Golinkoff & Hirsh-Pasek, 2000; Park, 1997; Werner & Kaplan, 1988), anticipation cues (Joffee & Rikhye, 1991), tactile symbols (Lund& Troha, 2008), and tangible cues (Rowland & Schweigert, 1989; Vicker, 1996). Tangible symbols are an important form of communication for children with visual and additional impairments who communicate at the presymbolic level (Rowland & Schweigert, 2000). They are appropriate for this population of children because they make fewer demands on memory and representational abilities than do more abstract symbols (Rowland & Schweigert, 2000). In addition, they support presymbolic communicators to express the children's wants and needs, thus reducing the children's frustrations and associated undesirable behaviors (Trief, 2007). Tangible symbols can be used in tandem with other expressive forms of communication, such as body language, gestures, vocalizations, early verbalizations, signs, and voice output devices. Little has been done to establish a set of standardized tangible symbols. Other standardized communication systems have been developed, including sign language, line drawings (such as Mayer-Johnson), and braille. Each system provides users with a consistent and stable system of symbols that have been universally accepted. The purpose of this study was to identify a set of standardized tangible symbols from which educational teams could select the most appropriate symbols for the children they serve. METHOD A survey was developed that asked the participants to identify the tangible symbols they were already using, new activities and concepts they would like to represent in tangible symbols, and their preferences for tangible symbols for 28 referents that were identified in a pilot study (see Trief, 2007). This survey was sent to the directors of four New York City schools and additional agencies to disseminate to their teachers and speech-language pathologists. Twenty-nine teachers and speech-language pathologists who were certified in visual impairment, severe multiple disabilities, or speech and language therapy completed the survey. In addition, a 14-member advisory board, composed of 5 directors of New York City schools, 3 speech-language pathologists from the surveyed schools, the designer and manufacturer of the symbols, a representative from the Perkins School for the Blind, 3 college professors, and a graduate research assistant, was formed. This board reviewed and discussed the results of the survey and suggested the symbols they thought were appropriate for each referent during a three-hour meeting. RESULTS The teachers and speech-language pathologists identified 48 referents for which they either already used or needed a tangible symbol, and the advisory board identified an additional 9 referents. Some of the suggested new symbols were recommended for use at home. Table 1 presents the referents for which tangible symbols were requested by the teachers and speech-language pathologists, the number of teachers and speech-language pathologists who were currently using symbols for these referents, the number who requested a symbol for these referents, and the documented need (sum of teachers and speech-language pathologists who were already using or requesting a symbol for a specific referent). The survey indicated that the following symbols were requested by teachers and speech-language pathologists at all four schools: dismissal, bathroom, gym, speech, music, classroom, literacy, circle time, outside, occupational therapy, physical therapy, snack, computer, art, sensory, and rest time, with additional symbols being requested by a varied number of teachers. …