Communicative and Assistive Device Laboratory (CADL)

CADL studies talk-in-interaction and the interplay between human conversants and their communication technologies, with special attention to individuals with Complex Communication Needs who use Augmentative Communication Technologies to mediate their social interactions.

Director: Jeff Higginbotham, PhD

Cary Hall, Room 106

CADL currently collaborates with the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies (UNC - Chapel Hill) on a 5-year grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation, Engineering Research.  The purpose of Project OPEN is to:

  • Determine the role of composition delay in creating problems for individuals with CCN and their partners in carrying out in-person interactions
  • Identify the strategies used by participants to stay in-time and/or overcome problems during talk-in-interaction
  • Identify interaction similarities and differences across individuals with ALS, cerebral palsy, and intellectual and developmental disabilities
  • Build a web-based open-source AAC prototype for research and development