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Instructional Technology: A Picture-aided Communication Systems Manager (PACSMan)

Award Number: R42DC010365
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/04/2009
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2015

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Instructional Technology: A Picture-aided Communication Systems Manager (PACSMan) - DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This fast-track application requests support to develop and field test software for functional communication training for children with autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders. Aimed principally at behavior therapists, special educators, and speech/language professionals, the software will support implementation of augmentative/alternative communication (AAC) approaches that use pictures to aid functional communication. Picture-aided communication systems are now widely used in functional communication training, most notably in the widely used PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System). The proposed product will address three critical stages in such functional communication training: (1) establishing the first instances of reliable discrimination among pictures and corresponding objects, (2) accelerating expansion of the picture-discrimination repertoire, and (3) establishing and expanding pictures sequences to support progressively more capable picture-aided communication. The working title of the product is Picture-Aided Communication System Manager (PACSMan). The scientific foundation for PACSMan is extensive, deriving from dozens of publications in professional journals over the past three decades. The program will manage the therapist-child interface within a PECS-like teaching environment. The software will (1) display sequences of stimulus items and their configurations to be presented, (2) allow the therapist to quickly and conveniently enter data corresponding to the child's behavior, (3) make automated on-the-fly queries of an individual-child database in order make decisions concerning the nature of the teaching sequences (i.e., when to add new items, when to accelerate teaching, when to remediate, etc.), and generally support an ongoing process of optimizing individualized instruction in picture-aided communication. This STTR project features a unique partnership between the UMMS Shriver Center, which established the evidence basis for the product, and Praxis, Inc., which contributes intellectual property whereby the product can be rapidly and cost-effectively developed.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2015 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2015	2013	PRAXIS, INC	13 WEST STREET	BELMONT	MA	02478	MIDDLESEX	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	3	1/21/2015	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2013 ( Subtotal = $420,188 )
2013	2013	PRAXIS, INC	13 WEST STREET	BELMONT	MA	02478	MIDDLESEX	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	3	2/15/2013	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$420,188
														Subtotal = $420,188

Issue Date FY: 2012 ( Subtotal = $418,090 )
2012	2012	PRAXIS, INC	13 WEST STREET	BELMONT	MA	02478	MIDDLESEX	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	2	2/10/2012	EXTENSION WITH OR WITHOUT FUNDS	$418,090
														Subtotal = $418,090

Issue Date FY: 2011 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2011	2009	PRAXIS, INC	13 WEST STREET	BELMONT	MA	02478	MIDDLESEX	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	1	8/12/2011	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2010 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2010	2009	PRAXIS, INC	13 WEST STREET	BELMONT	MA	02478	MIDDLESEX	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	1	11/5/2009	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2009 ( Subtotal = $155,665 )
2009	2009	PRAXIS, INC	13 WEST STREET	BELMONT	MA	02478	MIDDLESEX	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	1	9/3/2009	NEW	$155,665
														Subtotal = $155,665

Grand Total All Awards = $993,943

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Instructional Technology: A Picture-aided Communication Systems Manager (PACSMan)

Award Number: R42DC010365

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/04/2009

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2015

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