augmentative and alternative communication for children...

Adelaide West Special Education Centre

Statewide Outreach Service

25th September 2019

Jennifer Young

Augmentative and Alternative Communication for Children with Complex

Needs

Overview

• Adelaide West Outreach Service

• What is AAC?

• Communication functions and strategies

• The importance of Modelling

• Visuals

• AAC systems

• Questions and Answers

Adelaide West State-wide Outreach Service

Provides tailored support for teachers, SSOs and

Student Support Services Staff working with learners

with disabilities or complex communication needs to

enable learners to access, participate and engage in

the school curriculum and community.

Services include but are not limited to;

• Curriculum Support

• Complex Communication Needs (CCN)

• Disability Awareness

• Assistance with Transitions

• Professional Development

• Make real choices

• Refuse, reject, say no

• Ask for what I want

• Share feelings

• Be heard and responded

to even if the answer is

no

• Ask for and get attention

and interaction

• Have and use AAC all the

time

• Know and ask about my

schedule

• Be taught how to

communicate

• Be a full member of my

community

• Be treated with respect

and dignity

• To be spoken with and

not about

• Be communicated with in

a sensitive manner

Communication Bill of Rights

Presume Competence

Just because a child may not be able to speak doesn’t

mean that he has nothing to say.

Just because a person may be overwhelmed in social

situations doesn’t mean that she doesn’t long for

friendship.

Just because someone has difficulty initiating movement

doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to participate.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication

AAC is the term used for all communication that is not speech, but is

used to enhance or to replace speech.

An AAC System means the whole combination of methods used for

communication, for example, gestures, eye pointing, vocalisations and

pointing to symbols, etc.

Novita Tech, (2018), www.novita.org.au/equipment/augmentative-and-alternativecommunication-aac/

What is AAC?

“AAC strategies can provide

children who have developmental

delays with an immediate means

of communication; can facilitate

expressive and receptive language

development until

other communication modalities

improve (i.e., speech); and can

serve as a bridge to future spoken

language development (Kangas &

Lloyd, 1988; Silverman 1995).”

AAC Myths

Why Do We Communicate?

Expressing wants and needs

• Asking for help, requesting food or

drink

Information sharing

• Answering questions,

giving directions

Social closeness

• Chatting with friends, telling jokes,

general conversation

• Fulfilling social etiquette rules

• Manners - please, thank you

(Light, 1997)

We all communicate through behaviour

We are all very good at using both verbal and

non verbal communication to express how we

feel

For a person with communication challenges it

can be very difficult to get their message across

Behaviour develops over time, people will do

what gets attention and is efficient

Addressing the communication, you may

alleviate some of the behaviour and be able to

begin to decode others

All Behaviour is Communication

People with Complex Communication Needs use:

• Facial Expressions

• Vocalisation

• Gestures

• Sign Language

• Body Language

• Pointing

• Choice cards

• Keyboards

• Visuals

• AAC apps on mobile devices

• Speech generating devices

Communication Toolbox

• Model

• Immersion in their AAC system

• Having AAC system available all of

the time

• Everyone using it

• Make the most of every opportunity

• If you can’t have it with you, make

alternate AAC available

Keys to Success with AAC Systems

A communication partner is anyone who

interacts with somebody else

The communication partner should:

• identify, respect and use the person’s

recommended communication system

• Model words on the AAC system

• Wait, prompt and respond to the AAC

user’s attempts at communication

• Make comments rather than ask

questions

• Accept all forms of communication

Who is a Communication Partner?

• Identify the methods the child uses to communicate

• Demonstrate respect and presume competence

• Cue the child to initiate a response

• Gain and maintain attention – maintain eye contact

• Avoid the temptation to anticipate needs/wants

• Offer choices

• Keep sentences short

• Listen attentively

• Be patient and allow processing time - wait 10-20 seconds before

prompting

• Support the child to develop his/her communication skills across a

range of environments and with different people

• Respond to all communication attempts

And what is the most important one of all?

Model Model Model

Strategies for Communication Partners

What is Modelling?

Modelling or Aided Language

Stimulation is a communication

strategy where a communication

partner teaches symbol meaning and

models language by combining their

own verbal input with a selection of

vocabulary on the users AAC

system.

This is done by simultaneously

selecting vocabulary on the AAC

system and speaking.

Things to remember when modelling

• Model one to two words more than you expect the child to respond with

• Communication happens everywhere, all of the time

• It is ok for children to explore

• Involve everyone

• Use all of modes of communication

• It is OK to make mistakes

• It is not a quick fix, little steps will see success

• Better understanding and use of device

• Improved engagement

• Improved communication across the range of

communicative functions

• The ability to initiate, protest and participate in the

conversations happening around them

• Increased independence, confidence and well

being

Modelling is vital for AAC success

What does modelling lead to?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flFNMky22-U

Aided Language Stimulation Explained

• Identify opportunities within

natural routines/tasks

• Pause frequently during

tasks/activities

• Talk about upcoming events

• Allow time for child to chat

Providing Informal Opportunities for Communication

Visual Schedules

Provide structure and predictability

Reduce stress and anxiety

Easy to create, use and adapt

Cater to a variety of people and don’t

require literacy skills or verbal output

Instructional Visuals

break

Organisational Visuals

Aided Language Display

• Topic specific

• Symbol, picture and text based

Pragmatic – The ways that we use language socially

Organisation – Words and symbols arranged in a

systematic way

Dynamic Display – Changing pages

What is PODD?

Developed over the past 15 years by Gayle

Porter, a speech pathologist from the Cerebral

Palsy Education Centre (CPEC) in Victoria.

PODD is a way of organising whole word and

symbol vocabulary in a communication book

or speech generating device to provide

immersion and modelling for learning.

Background

The aim of a PODD is to provide vocabulary

for continuous communication all the time

for a range of messages

across a range of topics

in multiple environments

PODDs are set up for the individual according to

their physical, sensory and communication needs

Direct access – the user points directly to what they want to say.

Alternative access – Modified for the user who may not be able to point and turn

pages themselves or may have a cortical vision impairment, require an eye gaze

setup or partner assisted.

Group PODD – Commonly used in the classroom.

Electronic PODD – The PODD grid sets available on either dedicated devices or the iPad

For further info: http://www.novita.org.au/Content.aspx?p=683

What is Proloquo2Go?

• Communication application for an IOS device

• Proloquo2Go means “speak out loud” in Latin

• Is symbol based with auditory feedback

• 25,000 “Symbolstix” symbols

• ‘Basic’, ‘Intermediate Core’ and ‘Advanced Core’

Vocabularies

• Natural-sounding child and adult Australian voices

• Import from Google images or photo gallery

• Developed by AssistiveWare TM

• AU$399.99 – available at the App Store

• Bedtime

• Getting Dressed

• Cooking

• Reading Books

• Puzzles

• Toy Cars

• Sensory Play

• Shopping

• Watching TV

• Mealtimes

• Arts and Craft

• On the go

Core Words at Home

https://coreword.assistiveware.com

Learn AAC

https://www.assistiveware.com/learn-aac

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOxfeYeExoo&feature=youtu.be

No More Boundaries

Communication Breakdowns –

What do you do?Being able to repair communication breakdowns

is essential

If the person is not understanding you

Repeat or rephrase the information

Break it down into smaller chunks

Use visual supports

Seek assistance from their more familiar communication

partners

If you do not understand what someone is saying to you?

Let them know, Do not pretend you understand

Ask them to show you if they can

Ask them to say it in a different way

Ask them to show you using visuals or their system

Questions

Resources

Novita Tech, (2018), www.novita.org.au/equipment/augmentative-and-

alternativecommunication-aac/

Light, J.A. (1997). Communication is the essence of human life: Reflections

on communicative competence. Augmentative and Alternative

Communication, 13, 61-70.

http://www.novita.org.au/Content.aspx?p=683

https://coreword.assistiveware.com

https://www.assistiveware.com/learn-aac

Adelaide West Statewide Outreach

Service Contact Information

adwest.outreach611@schools.sa.edu.au

Phone: (08) 8248 9100

Email: jennifer.young647@schools.sa.edu.au

monique.starejko406@schools.sa.edu.au

lesley.coy771@schools.sa.edu.au

Facebook Group: AdWest Outreach CCN Group