AUGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION DEVICES: NATIONAL TRAJECTORIES IN XX CENTURY

Relevance. This comparative historical study examines the development of technical aids for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) across ten countries (the USA, Canada, the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands, West Germany, France, the USSR/Russia, Japan, and Czechoslovakia/Poland) between 1920 and 2000. The topic is relevant due to the growing importance of inclusive communica-tion technologies and the need to understand cross-national differences in their histor-ical formation.

Purpose. The aim of the study is to identify national trajectories of AAC tech-nology development, test hypotheses regarding country-specific priorities in device creation, and construct an explanatory model of cross-national differences incorporat-ing institutional and cultural factors.

Materials and methods. The study applies comparative-historical analysis and systema-tization of data on AAC devices, their years of introduction, and target clinical and age groups. A cartogram of national technological trajectories is developed. Four hy-potheses are tested, and a nine-factor explanatory model is constructed using an inter-disciplinary approach supported by structured data analysis.

Results. Four national models are identified: the Anglo-Saxon commercial-educational model, the Scandinavian universal-state model, the Continental medico-associative model, and the Soviet sensor-compensatory model. The Soviet tradition is shown not to have developed specialized AAC devices for motor-speech impair-ments, but it made significant contributions to assistive technologies for visual-hearing impairments and speech rehabilitation in aphasia. The cartogram reveals sta-ble cross-national differences in technological trajectories and priorities.

Conclusion. The study demonstrates that theoretical and methodological frameworks of national special education systems significantly influence technologi-cal priorities in AAC development, with an impact comparable to that of legislation and funding mechanism.

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