START LEARNING NOW

This four part, introductory series is designed to provide speech-language pathologists and other communication professionals a stepwise framework to guide execution of the core elements of a comprehensive augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) assessment. Learn how to add to your SLP language tool box to adjust for the unique needs of complex communicators and be more effective at selecting and trialing AAC tools.

This 6 part course will lead participants through an exploration of literacy development in children, best practices in what literacy instruction looks like, why this is critical to AAC users, and how SLPs or anyone working on communication skills with AAC users can integrate these best practices into their work on language development. Why is literacy instruction important for speech-language pathologists working with AAC users? Communication is grounded in an individual's ability to have SNUG or Spontaneous Novel Utterance Generation-the ability to say exactly what you want, when you want. Literacy allows a communicator who has limited oral language to say anything at any time, regardless of what symbols or whole words are available on their communication device or system, as long as they have access to the alphabet. The delivery of comprehensive literacy instruction for learners with complex bodies and/or significant disabilities, including those who are still at the emergent literacy level is an evidence-based methodology that supports these learners in becoming readers and writers, and ultimately having access to SNUG.

This 4 part course for all skill levels will provide a framework to help you support the development of language and communication skills with AAC for children at the earliest stages of communication learning. You will learn how to use comprehensive assessment data to set functional and developmentally-sound, child and family-centered goals for emerging communicators (Explorers). You will also learn how to set the stage for engaging communication learning opportunities and how to support those opportunities across environments with evidence-based language intervention strategies, AAC style! This series is sure to engage you in the theory and practice of successful communication intervention with AAC and give you the tools you need to guide your students and their families toward a lifetime of communicative independence.