Keys to Teaching AAC

1. Model without expectations.

Modeling is when you yourself use either the learner's device/board (if they don't mind you using it) or your own identical one. The goal is to allow the learner to watch and better understand how the device or board works, what words each button says, contexts in which a word would be used, how words can go together, all sorts of things!

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Modeling provides the language examples that typically developing children get passively from hearing speech. Babies get to hear millions of words modeled for them with no expectation of reciprocity for an entire year before we ever expect them to say a single word, yet AAC learners are lucky if they get even an hour of modeling a week. And if after two months of that, our learners haven't started using AAC in a manner deemed to be "functional", we give it up for lost.

 

2. G​ive learners sufficient time to “explore” their AAC voices through babbling.

Almost all new AAC users will go through stages of language learning very similar to those of babies. Babbling looks like “playing” with the device – touching buttons at random, possibly over and over, listening to the sounds it makes, pushing them quickly or slowly…just the same way babies “play” with their voices as they learn how they work! As they become toddlers our typically developing kids will slowly begin to use real words mixed into nonsense speech. AAC users do, too, continuing to babble some, while also throwing in more purposeful communication. There’s an expectation that, having had time to babble with spoken language

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3. Make things silly and fun when you can, and always keep it errorless!

My favorite way to teach AAC is by letting the kids turn me into a toy. Whatever they say, I give it meaning! If they touch “turn” I might turn around, spin them around, turn a toy around, etc. If they touch “stop” I will literally freeze my entire body in place. If they touch “go” I’ll pretend to run in place or make their toy car “go”. Even if they touch something that doesn’t seem to have any meaning, like “the”, I’ll just start pointing to things – “the” car, “the” shirt, “the” tree. Make sure their interaction with the device is something positive and act like that’s what they meant to say, even if what they said seems "incorrect".

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4. Keep the AAC device/board in view, independently accessible, and charged as needed.

I always suggest to caretakers and staff who are overwhelmed by the idea of starting with AAC to make this their first goal! For the first week, just practice keeping the device charged and next to the child. That’s it, that’s your whole goal for the week. 

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5. Respect an AAC user’s device or board/book the same way you would respect a child’s physical voice.

Just as we would never take a child’s physical voice away because they were “playing with it” (stimming, babbling), talking when they’re not allowed to, or saying inappropriate things, we also should not remove an AAC method that is the child’s voice.  If they say something inappropriate or talk when it is quiet time, give them the same consequences you would give a speaking child.

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6. Respect bodily autonomy.

Avoid physically moving the user’s hand to touch a button or manipulate the device to change the button they push. You want them to be in control, you want their words to be their own, and you want them to be independent with their use.

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7. Encourage all functions of communication.

Too often we limit what we work on with kids to requesting (wants/needs) and basic labeling (stating what things are). Language is so much more than that! Refusing, protesting, arguing, sharing ideas, giving opinions, asking questions, answering questions, talking about the past, joking, making plans for the future, reporting problems, giving directions, these are just some of the many, many functions of communication we should encourage in our kids. And the first step to that is modeling them.

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8. Continue to accept requests made through other previously accepted modalities (speech, sign, gestures, etc).

It’s tempting to deny access to an item/activity until it’s requested on the device but that can backfire. Especially if this is an item/activity that is a) something that is right there that they know you could easily give them or b) would normally be provided, or at least provided in greater quantity, prior to the device’s introduction. Here’s the mentality that unintentionally creates. “I see the Cheetos right. There. You could literally hand them to me and instead you’re making me touch this THING!” Or it could be “Until this thing came along, all I had to do was [point, echo, etc] and I got what I wanted. Now even though I *know* they know what I want, because I’m doing all the same things I did before, they’re not giving them to me until I touch this!” The device becomes perceived as a barrier.

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The same thing applies to answering questions. Questions are often perceived as demands and can cause a backlash. It’s okay and even good to model asking questions, but don’t force the answer – it’s best to model questions you can answer yourself. For instance, if you model “What is your favorite animal?” on the device and the child reaches for the cow, and the reaching would previously have been acceptable, give them the cow and after you do, model the answer. “I can tell you’re saying [modeling on device ‘I like cows’].”

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9. Help the learner associate AAC just with positive experiences.

That means avoiding using the device or book for work. It's critical, especially during the learning process, that AAC not be used for running programs or forcing non-preferred activities. You want their AAC method to be associated only with pleasant experiences.

 

If you absolutely feel you must have a communication program for doing work with, get a different device/book/board with a different AAC program for that, like one of the free options listed earlier. Don't start using a device for work even in this context until after independent AAC use has been firmly and consistently established on the child’s native device, though.

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10. Check first with your speech therapist before you delete words, change buttons on the home page, or change the grid size.

If you really must, hide a button instead of deleting it.

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11. Keep going even if the user doesn’t “get it” right away.

This is a process that takes time but it is very worth it in the end! Remember, we give typically developing children a full year of listening to models before we ever expect them to say a single word. We can't expect a child to be using AAC in just a few months, let alone to the standards that many people set for "functionality".

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12. Ask questions about AAC!

Your speech therapist is a great resource, but there are many others. Facebook groups like “Ask me, I’m an AAC User!” where you can ask adult AAC users questions about their experiences with devices are amazing sources of information, as are groups and pages specific to whatever AAC app or device the child is using.