Every Child Deserves a Voice
As a speech-language pathologist, I am passionate about helping all of the children I work with find their voice in whatever modality that may be. In honor of AAC awareness month, I wanted to share what AAC is, who uses AAC and how we can encourage the functional use of AAC to help every child find their voice.
What is AAC?
AAC, or Augmentative or Alternative Communication, includes all forms of communication (other than verbal speech) to express wants, needs, thoughts and ideas. AAC can be in the form of no tech/low tech, which would include things such as exchanging pictures, writing with pencil and paper, or communicating with objects (handing an adult an empty sippy cup, communicating I need water). Other low tech systems include picture exchange communication systems (PECS), picture books or low tech communication boards. AAC also includes high tech options such as apps on tablets with the purpose of communication including LAMP or ProLoQuo2Go, as well as dedicated speech generating devices such as Dynavox. The goal of AAC is to help children and adults with communication disorders communicate their ideas, wants and needs.
Who uses AAC?
There are so many individuals that benefit and others who would benefit from access to AAC! Children with apraxia of speech, cognitive impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, and other developmental delays could all potentially benefit from a form of AAC. AAC can be used with adults as well, for example, adults with degenerative diseases such as Alzheimers, ALS, Parkinson’s, MS, to name a few. This is a general list of who may benefit but of course is not all inclusive. Everyone is unique and may fall under the category that would benefit from AAC.
How do we encourage the use of AAC?
Being unable to express your thoughts, ideas, wants and needs can be incredibly frustrating! As an adult, I have taken American Sign Language (ASL), and my instructor was Deaf and only used ASL to communicate. As a student in the class, I had to communicate with sign only (he did read lips but we were encourage to use ASL only). This was very difficult and opened my eyes to what my students with communication disorders might be feeling. So how can we encourage the use of AAC to help children and adults communicate what they want to express?
Model! Encourage the child to watch you model communication and how communicating via picture cards, or using a speech generating device gets you what you want or need! Modeling is so powerful. Kids watch your every move and pick up on what you are doing to get what you want. Encourage other family members or friends to model and praise children when the follow a model using AAC to express ideas, wants/needs. Think about ways to manipulate the environment to get a child to request what they want. For example, maybe put their favorite toy out of reach, model “Elmo” or “I want Elmo” (pending their language level). See if the child follows your model to get what they want! Start slow and build up to modeling longer utterances! Have fun! You can play games and model “my turn” or “your turn”. See if they start to follow your model!
Teach! Teach students HOW to use a speech generating device. They are not going to just grab a device or picture cards and start making sentences. Evaluate their language and start lessons that are appropriate to their skills and needs. For example, maybe your child/student doesn’t understand or use prepositions correctly. This can cause a lot of confusion when listening and giving directions! Play a game such as hide-and-seek. Hide a highly reinforcing object, take turns finding it and using the device to say WHERE you found it. Model and teach while having fun! Start with one word for example, “under”, move to phrases “it is under” to longer utterances “I found it under” and even longer “I found it under the chair”. Don’t set the expectations too high and cause frustration. Meet the child where they are, encourage and motivate them to find successful ways to use their AAC.
Train! Parents, teachers, teaching assistants, don’t just know how to use AAC and shouldn’t be expected to. If you are the SLP, train the team. If you are a parent, teacher or assistant, request training! It is KEY to success! Everyone has to be on board and understand the purpose and functionality of the AAC that the child is using.
AAC can feel overwhelming and complicated. Just remember, it is so valuable and can help a child find their voice and express themselves! It is a powerful tool that can really boost the quality of life for individuals struggling with communication needs. If you or someone you know is using an AAC device and might benefit from therapy in the home to help with understanding and use of the AAC, contact Berry Speech Academy today!
