Communication Alternative Améliorée (CAA): Discover the first social impact study by La Croix Rouge Française
Published: 06 October 2023
Since 2016, La Croix Rouge has made Enhanced Alternative Communication (EAC) one of its priorities, in 2020 a social impact study has been set up on the use of AAC within its disability facilities.
What is Augmentative Alternative Communication, commonly known as AAC?
It is a set of methods, devices, systems or techniques designed to complement or supplement oral language in case of communication difficulties. For example:
- A digital application such as VOICE from the AMIKEO will help people with oral communication difficulties to verbalize their needs.
- From pictograms representing everyday objects can be used to make it easier to understand each other.
The sign language not only for the deaf or hard of hearing, but also for people who have difficulty communicating
Some very positive results emerged from this social impact study
The results of the study are unequivocal: CAA has enabled professionals to discover new skills and become more aware of the need for autonomy in the people they support.
For people with disabilities, numerous benefits have been identified :
- Stress reduction
- Increased pleasure and serenity
- Improved health
- Improved autonomy
- Improved self-confidence
- Strengthening social ties
This helped to rebalance relations between beneficiaries and professionals, because thanks to CAA, everyone could feel more stable and serene, as they were now able to understand each other better.
The social link is one of the big winners, mainly thanks to digital tablets and dedicated applications which now offer a wide range of communication possibilities.
Key figures
- 86% of professionals have discovered skills they never knew they had in the people they support
- 70% of professionals consider that AAC enables them to better understand the mental and physical suffering of the people they work with.
- 67% of professionals find that systematically explaining the day’s events to a person helps them to look forward to future events.
- 90% of professionals consider that AAC should be a priority project in relation to other projects at their facility
- 71% of professionals say they feel more useful to the people they support thanks to AAC
Discover the full study
here
Discover our digital AAC solutions
here