#TalkingAAC 2024

Early in my career supporting emergent communicators, I relied on the prompt hierarchy to guide me.  Unfortunately, the outcome was often students who were completely dependent upon me to show or tell them what to say. What I was doing wasn’t resulting in autonomous communication, which I knew was the goal, and  I needed to change. In this session we will explore the reasons why we rely on prompts when teaching AAC and how prompting can interfere with autonomous communication. We will also apply basic knowledge of prelinguistic skills (engagement, joint attention, motivation, etc.) and expressive language development to determine appropriate goals and strategies for emergent communicators. Finally we will discuss strategies to assist prompt dependent AAC users to reduce their reliance on prompts and begin to generate their own messages by choosing motivating, open ended, student led activities. 

Students with complex communication and extensive support needs using AAC should receive emergent literacy instruction on a daily basis. Literacy learning is the one way we can ensure our students using AAC are able to communicate precisely and become competent communicators.  Unfortunately, this population of students is often left out of comprehensive literacy instruction. This presentation will share how we are providing direct emergent  literacy instruction in letter of the day, core word of the day, and daily shared reading experiences in a preschool special education classroom. You will see the students use a variety of communication systems including eye gaze, direct select, and other no tech supports. Communication, using core vocabulary, is easily embedded into these routines resulting in a multitude of daily communicative opportunities.

Shared reading and alphabet knowledge are two emergent literacy instructional routines discussed in Project-Core, a Stepping-Up Technology Implementation Grant directed by the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies. Shared reading is the interaction that occurs when a child and adult interact with a book together. The goal of the routine is interaction and connection with the adult, the child and the book. Ultimately, we want the child to drive the interaction. This alphabet instructional routine explicitly teaches the alphabet using a distributed practice model. Learning the alphabet is the foundation for our students to learn to spell and communicate.

In addition to the emergent literacy strategies discussed above we have added core vocabulary instruction. Explicit core vocabulary instruction for emergent communicators is another routine students using AAC can benefit from. Explicitly teaching the meaning and use of core words in engaging and language rich activities supports both receptive and expressive language learning.

This presentation will describe the three instructional routines and demonstrate the many ways our students began to participate. We will share how we got started, from navigating seating, mounts, CVI needs, and choosing communication systems. We will discuss our challenges and ultimately the successes as we provide communication and literacy learning to preschool students with extensive support needs.

This session will introduce several ways participants can use free resources to support AAC users, families, and educational teams. Tabi and Rachael will share an overview of the “Stepping Into AAC” materials, including hands-on activities, videos, and newsletters. These materials are available to the public at no charge, offering a time-saving resource to build early understanding of AAC principles. Examples will include:

• Applying these resources to early intervention services
• Using materials in educational settings, including staff training
• Building parent/family support groups for encouragement and accountability
• Supporting outpatient settings or other therapy teams

The unique challenges of each service delivery setting will be discussed, along with options for overcoming barriers to effective AAC use. Join us for an exploration of this rich and dynamic resource that you can start using in your setting immediately.
Outcomes:
1. Describe the three tiers of Stepping Into AAC training materials.
2. Explain how to access the Stepping Into AAC online, print, and video resources.
3. Discuss how to utilize these materials in early intervention, schools, and clinical settings.