Use of Eye-Gaze Feedback by AAC Professionals – Findings from a Thematic Analysis

Description

Eye-gaze technology can play a vital role in enabling access to communication for users with a wide range of disabilities. Research demonstrates the critical importance of careful assessment by skilled professionals in the provision of this technology (Perfect et al., 2020; Karlsson et al., 2021). Assessment is often contingent upon professionals’ use and interpretation of feedback provided by the devices and their installed software, which offer information on a users’ calibration, positioning and aspects of their performance during use.
However it has been observed that application of such feedback is dependent on its presentation and its understanding by those using it (Venker and Kover, 2015). This session will report preliminary analysis from a focus group study conducted with two groups of AAC professionals, which sought to understand how they receive, interpret and apply different feedback types commonly provided by eye-gaze systems and software. The focus groups centred around discussion of five different feedback types: calibration plots, positioning
guides, heatmaps, scan paths and live images of the users’ eyes. Professionals taking part ranged from daily users of the technology to those working in highly specialised contexts. A thematic analysis of the data collected from these focus groups was then undertaken by the research team, resulting in a range of themes and subthemes related to the presentation, availability and interpretation of feedback, as well as how it is applied by professionals. Delegates attending this session will gain an understanding of the themes identified, the potential areas for improvement and some of the implications for feedback design. The presentation will be supported by quotes from the focus group participants, and presenters will highlight some key areas for discussion.

Period	12 Sept 2023
Event title	Communication Matters: International Conference 2023
Event type	Conference
Location	Leeds, United KingdomShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International