Effects of Instruction With the Accessible Literacy Learning App on Three Literacy Skills for Children Who Use Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Purpose: Despite the inestimable importance of literacy skills for children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), many AAC users do not develop even basic literacy skills. The Accessible Literacy Learning (ALL) curriculum is evidence-based; however, little research has investigated the effects of instruction using the ALL app, and no research has examined parent-implemented adapted literacy instruction. Method: A single case study with a multiple-baseline across-participants design was used to investigate the effects of instruction using the ALL app, implemented by trained parents, on the acquisition of three phonics-based early literacy skills (i.e., sound blending, decoding, and high-frequency words), with four children who had minimal or no speech and used high-tech AAC. The ALL app was implemented by parents who were virtually trained, and progress was monitored remotely by researchers. Social validity data were also collected from parents. Results: All four participants made intervention gains in sound blending trained words, decoding trained words, and reading high-frequency words. Three of four participants demonstrated positive gains in sound blending and decoding untrained words. All parents reported the app was easy to use, appropriate for their children, and that they would continue to use the app in the future. Conclusions: The ALL app was an effective instructional tool to simultaneously target multiple early literacy skills for AAC users. Parents were able to provide evidence-based literacy instruction with fidelity using the app. Parent-implemented ALL app interventions have the potential to increase acquisition rates, decrease abandonment of literacy instruction, and increase instructional time, ultimately improving literacy outcomes for children who use AAC. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.30718034