“Social media has opened a world of ‘Open Communication:’” Caron & Light (2015).

 
 
Caron, J., & Light, J. (2015). “Social media has opened a world of ‘Open communication:’” Experiences of adults with cerebral palsy who use augmentative and alternative communication and social media. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, early on-line. DOI: 10.3109/07434618.2015.1052887
 
 
Download manuscript as a PDF 
Abstract
An online focus group was used to investigate the experiences of nine individuals with cerebral palsy who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and social media. Information was gathered related to (a) advantages of social media; (b) disadvantages of social media; (c) barriers to successful use; (d) supports to successful use; and (e) recommendations for other individuals using AAC, support personnel, policy makers, and technology developers. Participants primarily chose to focus on social media as a beneficial tool and viewed it as an important form of communication. The participants did describe barriers to social media use (e.g. technology). Despite barriers, all the participants in this study took an active role in learning to use social media. The results are discussed as they relate to themes and with reference to published literature.
This research was also profiled on-line in:  “A world of communication:  Penn State researcher makes social media accessible for those with disabilities.”  by Rachel Garman of IT Communications, with PennState IT News.