The pandemic has taught us in a great way the negative mental health impact of virtual education from the comfort of home. Plenty of research shows that when kids have good relationships, their academic success follows that. The family's focus for AAC users is participation beyond academics with peers. It’s likely that most of you have observed the challenges communication partners face when trying to support children who need AAC to communicate in community and educational settings. In this session, we will identify different communication partners, discuss the power of shifting mindsets, guide communication partner skill development through coaching with feedback and self-evaluation, and respect the AAC user while supporting learning with appropriate prompting.