Q- What was the biggest surprise during the Test Drives ?
A- How much fun people had browsing in the Amazon store.
People with aphasia have difficulty understanding and using spoken or written language. That doesn’t mean that they are not interested in talking with others, or reading a good story. CVAG staff use multi-modality communication approaches to help get messages in and to understand messages from our group members with aphasia. Staff and group members work together to share ideas, opinions and interests.
The Kindle Coaches had the task of teaching the operational features of the Kindle2. We used adult-based teaching methods, aphasia-friendly teaching methods and we followed 2 basic principles: be flexible and keep it simple. We worked as partners with the test drivers. Coaches and test drivers were both learning, and we might as well admit it, we wanted to have fun in the process. We had to learn about how to navigate the Kindle. We had to discover how to adapt the font size and text to make the reading experience as successful as possible. Collaborating with the test drivers in creating action plans and exploring the possibilities of the Kindle2 together was fun! There were many surprises.
The biggest surprise came as we browsed the Amazon/Kindle bookstore. Each of our test drivers remarked on what an amazing and overwhelming experience it was. We learned that this area within the test drive required additional planning. There were too many possibilities with no way of sorting through this vast library. The sheer number of choices became dizzying. And yet, all the test drivers really enjoyed browsing the many different books.
This situation presented another opportunity for enjoyable social communication. During our Kindle Coach visits we discussed categories and genres. We looked at titles. Together we figured out how to read synopses. We considered costs of purchase and we discussed the value of the “immediate download”. We wondered about how to access ‘free books’. Ultimately we examined our choices. Deciding was hard. But the conversational exchange was good!
We were excited about the normality of it all. We admitted that shopping in such a big place was complex. Yet, together we did all we could to make it work. What did we do when we encountered barriers? We waited. We walked away. We took time to chat. We discussed how to take another try or to try another way. We kept our mantra at the forefront… “Keep it simple”.
The Kindle Coaches truly weren’t very well versed in literary categories and genres. So, we did some homework on our own. We used the internet to gather information and then brought our new knowledge back to the test drivers. We’d like to pass on one useful source that we found: The Novel-list (Novelist) on Badger Link. Badger Link is a project of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction that provides online information resources. The Novelist is a guide to fiction that provides genre outlines. For example the Novelist provides the following suggestion as to how to talk to Thriller and Suspense fans: “ talk about favorites and plots. Readers who enjoy these genres always talk about fast-paced books with stories that hook them from the first paragraphs.
These readers may appreciate Mysteries, especially hard-boiled Private Investigators whose gritty stories evoke a dark atmosphere. Adventure novels may also work, and many readers of Suspense and Thrillers also enjoy Romantic Suspense, which has similar pacing but an equal measure of Romance with the Suspense. Some Science Fiction may also appeal, especially to fans of Scientific Thrillers.”
These suggestions helped the Kindle Coaches engage in more meaningful conversations about test driver interests and experiences. The Kindle Coaches learned not to ask, “Do you like Thrillers ?” but rather to have a conversation guided by the above topical descriptions. We had many good conversations and we learned about our test drivers and ourselves.
What books have our test drivers read ?
Faust
The Fine Art of Small Talk
Audrey Hepburn’s biography
G.K. Chesterton
Treasure Island
