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This blog post is the fourth in a series on how to introduce AAC support in the classroom. Don’t miss the previous post on How I Explain AAC to a New Communication Partner.
When I meet someone who is overwhelmed with learning about AAC, I ask them to take this one first step: use the “Always Available” strategy, or in other words, put AAC everywhere! An AAC user can’t use AAC if they don’t have AAC. A communication partner also cannot use (i.e. model) AAC if they don’t have AAC. Here are five more reasons to put lite-tech AAC all over your school, classroom, and at home:
1) AAC is a System, Not Just a Device
My AAC professor made us repeat this back to him regularly: AAC is a SYSTEM, not just a device. AAC includes all the ways a person communicates, not just their device if they have one. Gestures, facial expressions, pointing, body language, verbal speech or sounds, lite-tech devices, mid-tech devices, high-tech devices… why limit any child to just one? Even if a child already has a high-tech device, it’s still a great idea to keep lite-tech back-ups handy for modeling, messy activities, and just in case the batteries die.
2) Reminders for Communication Partners
Having the visual cue of many lite-tech boards, scattered all over the classroom, is a powerful reminder to all of the staff members that we need to be modeling all day long. Plus when lite-tech AAC is available, that means that no one has to borrow the AAC user’s device to model. This is really important because we want AAC users to have (and feel!) ownership of their device. I like to put this as, “your voice, your choice!” and I encourage staff members to make it their motto too.
3) Reducing Stigma for AAC Users
To learn to use an AAC device, children really need to see it being used by others. They can learn from watching adults model, but it’s so much more motivating when other kids use it too. When typically developing kids get to try AAC, they not only have fun, but they also learn empathy and respect for the effort that it takes to find and convey a message using a device.
4) You never know who ELSE might need AAC
When I ask teachers to put lite-tech AAC all over their classroom, it isn’t just for the kids that we’ve already identified as needing AAC. It’s also for all the kids who might need it, but who haven’t been referred to my caseload yet. Many people are unaware that AAC is not just for non-speaking individuals, but also benefits those with intermittent, unreliable, or insufficient speech. This is one reason there is currently a huge gap between the number of people who have AAC, and the number of people who actually need it. Having lite-tech everywhere can begin to bridge this gap, along with other strategies.
5) AAC Benefits that Go Beyond Communication
AAC can benefit speech, language, social skills, and overall communication. But did you know that it can also have amazing benefits for literacy? I have seen three and four year olds in a “full immersion” AAC classroom learn to read through core vocabulary lessons - because conveniently, most core words are also sight words.
There is absolutely no downside to having lite-tech AAC all over your classroom, home, and community, and so many potential benefits. Once you have AAC “always available,” what then? Stay tuned for the final post of this series: How to Incorporate AAC All Day at School.
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