How Do I Get Started?
Where to Begin:
When working with a student who has limited or no way to communicate, AAC should be considered. To begin, work with the student’s IEP team to help make decisions about AAC options. The IEP team includes the family and the student (depending on the age of the student) as well as others involved with the student (e.g., Speech and Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, paraprofessional).
Communication is critically important in learning and practicing academics, in socializing, in playing, and in participating in activities of daily living. Since the student has limited or no way to communicate, the student will be identified as needing some kind of AAC.
Even if the student does not communicate by speaking (orally), the student does communicate. The student’s efforts might be demonstrated by using one or more of the following:
- Behaviors (e.g., hitting, throwing things, crying)
- Vocalizations (e.g., “co” for cookie)
- Using gestures or facial or body language (e.g., pointing, eye gaze, smiling)
After going through the “consideration guide,” the next step is to determine how the student currently communicates effectively in ways other than through behaviors. Does the student use any of some of the following to communicate effectively? Also, which skills are emerging?
- Gesture
- Sign language
- Oral words
- Pictures with real photographs
- Pictures with line drawings or icons
- Text, or typing
- Pressing a touch screen picture
- Using a voice output device
Even though the team has not completed a thorough assessment, there is no need to wait. The team can determine which communication skills are emerging and can start to help the student build on those skills immediately.
AAC Consult/AT Consult Request:
Complete this form to request a consultation from the HCPS Assistive Technology Department. When a student is referred for an AAC Assessment the question is “What communication system would be the best fit for this student?” In order to determine the answer to that question an ongoing process is required. This ongoing process will yield recommendations based on data collected from trials with various communication systems used for meaningful tasks in the student’s daily environments.
Decision Making:
During the decision making phase the assessment team uses the information gathered to discuss strategies, tools, devices or services that are needed to help the student succeed. This decision making process typically follows the SETT Framework (Student, Environment, Task and Tools) which guides the team to generate possible AT solutions (Tools).
The following guide (SETT guide) can be used during the decision making phase but it is important that this information be collected in a format where all participants can see and contribute to one list, either on a flip chart or overhead, and then transferred to paper for distribution, file and future reference.
Trial Implementation:
The trial implementation phase helps answer the questions, “Does this technology solution actually do what we thought it would do for the student?” and “Which technology solution that we tried was most effective in meeting the student’s goal?” A trial implementation plan should be developed that includes the AT options that are to be tried, the goal and time lines of each trial, how the trial(s) will be implemented (environment, responsible person) and from where the technology will be acquired. This trial phase will provide the IEP team with the data necessary to make an informed decision. See below for sample trial data forms that you may find helpful to collect data.
Links:
HCPS AAC/AT Consultation Request
Information adapted from Virginia Department of Education’s –Training and Technical Assistance Centers at ttaconline.org