COMPA: Using Conversation Context to Achieve Common Ground in AAC

Group conversations often shift quickly from topic to topic, leaving a small window of time for participants to contribute. AAC users often miss this window due to the speed asymmetry between using speech and using AAC devices. AAC users may take over a minute longer to contribute, and this speed difference can cause mismatches between the ongoing conversation and the AAC user’s response. This results in misunderstandings and missed opportunities to participate. We present COMPA, an add-on tool for online group conversations that seeks to support conversation partners in achieving common ground. COMPA uses a conversation’s live transcription to enable AAC users to mark conversation segments they intend to address (Context Marking) and generate contextual starter phrases related to the marked conversation segment (Phrase Assistance) and a selected user intent. We study COMPA in 5 different triadic group conversations, each composed by a researcher, an AAC user and a conversation partner (n=10) and share findings on how conversational context supports conversation partners in achieving common ground.