Abstract

Good navigational skills are required to find words embedded within the dynamic display of a speech-generating device (SGD). Past research has demonstrated a relationship between navigational and cognitive skills in children and adults. Linguistic skills could also play a role in the navigational process. The goals of this study were to investigate the relationship between navigational and linguistic skills and to determine if the addition of linguistic variables to cognition could offer a better prediction of children’s navigational ability. Although receptive language skills were correlated with navigational skills, results revealed that linguistic skills were not among the best predictors. When age, linguistic skills, and cognitive skills were statistically analyzed, cognition alone remained the best predictor of the ability to navigate an SGD with taxonomical organization.