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Research Funding Opportunities

NIH/NIDCD – Advancing Research in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) (R01, R21 Clinical Trial Optional)

November 12, 2018 by School of Medicine Webmaster

The following description was taken from the R01 version of this FOA.

It is estimated that more than 46 million people in the United States suffer some form of disordered communication.  Approximately 1.4% of all people (4.05 million Americans) have such significant communication disabilities that they require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) strategies to meet their daily communication needs. AAC, e.g. use of picture boards or speech generating devices (SGDs), helps millions worldwide who cannot rely on their natural speech to communicate.

With the advent of powerful low cost computers and with new understanding of neuroscience through animal and human research, advances in brain computer interface (BCI) have emerged and research publications on BCI has increased.  BCI can provide access to AAC devices using neurological activity alone without voluntary movements.  As interest in BCI grew, the 1st international meeting devoted to BCI research and its development was held in 1999 with co-sponsorship from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).  Subsequent BCI meetings were held with support from a number of NIH Institutes.  The BCI meeting brings together scientists, engineers, and clinicians involved in BCI research and clinical use.  A new society focused on BCI was created in 2015 http://bcisociety.org/

Purpose

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) solicits Research Project Grants (R01) applications on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to advance our scientific knowledge in the evaluation and treatment of individuals with complex communication needs (CCN) or with severe speech and physical impairments (SSPI).  AAC is a set of tools and strategies that an individual uses to solve everyday communicative challenges. This FOA is for R01s only and encourages a range of research inclusive of basic, clinical, and translational.

Background

NIH’s mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability.  NIDCD’s focus within the NIH mission is to bring attention to the disorders and dysfunctions of human communication and to advance biomedical and behavioral research to improve the lives of people with a communication disorder. To accomplish its mission the NIDCD supports a broad portfolio of research across seven scientific program areas:  hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech and language.

It is estimated that more than 46 million people in the United States suffer some form of disordered communication.  Approximately 1.4% of all people (4.05 million Americans) have such significant communication disabilities that they require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) strategies to meet their daily communication needs. AAC, e.g. use of picture boards or speech generating devices (SGDs), helps millions worldwide who cannot rely on their natural speech to communicate.

During the past 40-50 years, the field of AAC made great strides and academic institutions began offering courses on AAC.  The International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) was formed in 1983. ISAAC is a member organization working to improve the lives of people with CCN https://www.isaac-online.org .  ISAAC holds a biennial conference and publishes a quarterly journal.  During the past decade research in AAC was strengthened with the emergence of Research Centers on AAC.  The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) of the US Department of Education funded a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) focused on communication enhancement from 2008 to 2013.  See http://aac-rerc.psu.edu/index.php/site/index   A new RERC on AAC is currently funded (from 2014 until 2019) by the renamed NIDRR, the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR).  For more information about the current RERC on AAC, see https://rerc-aac.psu.edu/

With the advent of powerful low cost computers and with new understanding of neuroscience through animal and human research, advances in brain computer interface (BCI) have emerged and research publications on BCI has increased.  BCI can provide access to AAC devices using neurological activity alone without voluntary movements.  As interest in BCI grew, the 1st international meeting devoted to BCI research and its development was held in 1999 with co-sponsorship from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).  Subsequent BCI meetings were held with support from a number of NIH Institutes.  The BCI meeting brings together scientists, engineers, and clinicians involved in BCI research and clinical use.  A new society focused on BCI was created in 2015 http://bcisociety.org/

The NIDCD has a long history of supporting AAC research.  The NIDCD held its first workshop on AAC in 1994. With recent advances in BCI development, the NIDCD held a workshop in 2006 on AAC-BCI, focusing on BCI for speech synthesis.  A subsequent workshop towards synergy between the AAC and the BCI fields was held in September 2015.  Seehttps://www.nidcd.nih.gov/research/workshops/towards-augmentative-and-alternative-communication-and-brain-computer-interface-synergy/2015/summary

Specific Areas of Research Interest

In August 2017, the NIDCD released its 2017-2021 strategic plan with 4 overarching priorities:  1) understanding normal function, 2) understanding diseases and disorders, 3) improving diagnosis, treatment and prevention and 4) improving outcomes for human communication.  The NIDCD Strategic also identified priority areas for the Voice, Speech and Language Programs.  For further information, see https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/about/strategic-plan/2017-2021

Research areas of interest applicable to AAC and this FOA include but are not limited to:

  • How can the internal language system of individuals with CCN be mapped to external AAC technologies?
  • What are the most appropriate designs for AAC technologies (vocabulary concepts, representations, layouts, organization) for individuals with CCN at various stages of language development, loss or recovery?
  • What are the optimal technologies to lessen demands on working memory?
  • What are the optimal technologies to reduce dual task demands?
  • What are the AAC displays that reduce demands of visual cognitive processing and optimize performance?
  • How can mainstream/universal technologies be leveraged so individuals with CCN expand their communication opportunities when using AAC devices?
  • What subset of individuals with CCN are best suited for using BCI to access AAC?
  • What is the relative risk and benefit of newer technologies compared to long established AAC device use?
  • How can AAC users access models including telehealth and mobile health (mhealth)?
  • What are the patient-centered factors that influence AAC users’ access to and outcomes of health care?

By nature, research in AAC, inclusive of BCI, is multidisciplinary, bringing in clinicians from a variety of disciplines (speech-language pathology, neurology, neurosurgery), engineers, basic scientists and others.  Thus, team science is expected in the grant applications to be appropriate for this solicitation.  Community based collaborative research taking into consideration the needs of the AAC users (or care givers if indicated) is highly encouraged.

Deadlines:  standard dates and standard AIDS dates apply

URLs:

Filed Under: Funding Opportunities

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