This picture from AAC Coach says so much about the nature of success with communication when using AAC. A few years ago I chatted with a college student who was able to fluidly answer my questions while typing on her iPad. It seemed impossible the story she was sharing was true – that until middle school she had been treated as though she had a significant intellectual disability, denied access to inclusive classrooms, and overheard teachers making comments that her parents “should just institutionalize her”. Yet here was this put together, bright college student who only stuck out because she typed her replies to me instead of speaking them aloud. It would be easy to assume from that conversation that all she needed was typing lessons and an iPad – but it is so much more than that.
As this graphic shows, when you look below the water at the iceberg underneath, success with AAC requires layers and layers of firm foundational support – everything from stakeholders who firmly believe in the child’s potential and ability – to the practice, practice, and practice involved between the language therapy, motor planning practice, and not giving up, despite how difficult it becomes. It is a journey to success.
Inclusion is listed here as one of the fundamental layers required for success. Inclusion (when done well) should provide students access to grade level instruction and expectation. These settings should send the message to the student that we believe he or she can achieve at high levels, that he or she is academically as capable as his or her peers despite the difficulties with communication, and also sets up an expectation that the child will participate in these conversations. When I think of the importance of inclusion I often think about a child I worked with who had two different teachers. Each teacher had a different understanding of the child – one believed the child was incapable, while the other believed he was quite capable. When I questioned the first teacher about her beliefs she shared that she had never asked him grade level questions or provided him with grade level work – so he never had a chance to show what he could do. He never wrote his name for her (although he was capable of doing so) because she had never asked him to.
In some ways, this picture exhausts me, because it reminds me of how much work is to be done to ensure success for all students. And none of those hidden pieces can be completed by one stakeholder – no parent or teacher alone can provide that rich foundation. It takes a strong team with shared beliefs.
We have a lot of work to do for our students – all of them, regardless of their communication, abilities, strengths and needs. Each of our children deserves a strong foundation with a core team that believes in them. Yet we know the work is possible. We have met those adults who make us believe in the easy fairy tale, and cause us to forget the work underneath. We know that we can give that success to others – many others – as long as we build the foundations and supports together.
A few weeks ago I was able to watch a webinar from Lauren Enders in regards to fun activities to jumpstart AAC learning. Last week I shared how much the need for making our lessons fun and connecting with our students resonated with me, particularly as we begin to meet with our students in person and may feel pressured to make up for lost time.
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So often, people who use AAC to communicate find themselves caught in the ability to only communicate with those who understand how AAC devices work in situations where AAC devices are available. It can be a small world in which to communicate. And yet, those of us who are able-bodied are only currently able-bodied. It is not something any of us want to think about, but any of us are capable of one day relying on AAC supports in order to reach the world around us.
I found myself getting nervous before my opportunity to present the research on Joey’s progress at the Council for Exceptional Children’s DADD conference in January. Joey’s journey is unique, but as I scrolled through my prepared slides I wondered if I was on the right track. So much of my work with Joey has involved throwing off what I was taught in terms of behavioral approaches and meeting Joey where he asks to be met. Not what I plan for Joey to do, or what I’ve done with students in the past, but where Joey shows me he is ready to work. Although this is the right approach for Joey, and I truly believe in the approaches we take for him, I realized I was nervous about the response I would get. Sometimes it just feels too different than the otherwise straightforward approaches to teaching communication. The audience of this conference included many doctoral degrees and experts in the field. What if I was doing everything wrong, and everyone heard me say it aloud?
