Course Description:

Long-perceived as a last resort intervention, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is now understood as an important component of a practitioner’s toolkit for supporting communication, language, and social-emotional development in young children including infants and toddlers. The ubiquitous nature of technology has prompted development of tools and resources that make it easier than ever to access and implement a wide range of communication tools, from paper-based to technology-based, to support both receptive and expressive language development and foster high-quality interactions between children and their caregivers.

This session will unpack the term “AAC system”, and explore the continuum of unaided and aided AAC tools from no-tech to paper-based to technology-based. It will include explanations of key features, and discuss considerations for vocabulary selection and organization in the context of supporting language development. Access modalities such as eye-gaze and partner-assisted scanning will be explained and resources for accessing these tools (low and high-tech) will be shared. Accessible design features that foster interest, motor access, and use of AAC across environments will also be explored.

This session is the second in a 3 part series to inform practitioners of the characteristics of AAC tools and strategies that support the natural language development process, expand understanding about the flexible nature of AAC as a “tool for for many”, and inspire appreciation of the discovery of a child’s authentic voice through AAC.