#TalkingAAC 2025

Many students with extensive support needs who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) struggle to read or understand grade-level words, concepts, and texts. Explicit and robust vocabulary instruction can play an important part in addressing this need, with a call for greater investment of instructional time aimed at building students' receptive vocabulary and conceptual understandings. The session will focus on evidence-based practices for receptive vocabulary instruction and approaches for leveraging the high frequency words students are likely to have available on their AAC systems to express understanding of the words. The session will feature Building Bridges, a federally funded, open-source project. The session will feature a 5-day cycle as an example of an instructional sequence that applies evidence-based practices in vocabulary instruction, with a focus on how the sequence can be effectively adapted for students with extensive support needs who use AAC (Geist & Erickson, 2021). Participants will be provided access to free, web-based decision-making tools, instructional planning resources and a collection of example lessons.

We highly encourage you to BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE (e.g. iPad with AAC apps) for this hands on session. This presentation provides a real-life example of how one SLP trained her building to be better communication partners by providing hands-on activities that utilize the staff’s learning styles: competition, humor, and challenge. The presentation aims to provide family members, educators, therapists, consultants, and communication partners with a model of how to go about teaching or learning AAC strategies in a fun and low-pressure way. The ASHA practice portal identifies providing initial and ongoing training as a key role and responsibility of the school-based SLP (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (n.d.)) This model was created by pulling from a number of well-established and researched models, including SMORRES (Baud & Senner, 2016) and models of ongoing trainings to support staff learning opposed to one-time in-services (Andzik et al., 2019).

The model being described in this presentation was implemented by an SLP at a post-secondary school (students ages 18-26 years old). In the first year, all staff were asked to participate in a 10-week, once a week, 15-minute training session led by the SLP. In the second year, returning staff completed a 5 week, once a week, 15-minute training, while new staff participated in the full 10-week model. Each training session included a quick lesson on a specific AAC training (ex. Wait time, no hand-over-hand, prompting hierarchy, aided language input, etc.) and a short activity (ex. Uno, guess-who, shared book reading, etc.). After the second year, the SLP gave a survey to gather feedback regarding the training and plan for future implementation/modification. Survey results indicated:
-a wide variety of learning outcomes such as knowledge of different applications, software features (word finder, editing), difference between vocal communication and communicating with a device, etc.,
-half of the survey respondents thought the amount of training was good while the other half felt they would benefit from monthly refreshers following completion of the training model,
-after training, staff feel comfortable using a variety of communication devices and strategies within their classroom,
-staff model on average 10-20 times per day, and
-staff would like continued training on techniques to increase buy-in, learning new programs/softwares, editing/adding words, etc.

Since completing the second year of training and analyzing survey results, the SLP has utilized a number of other strategies to promote an AAC culture within the building including AAC groups, modeling competitions, positive praise, etc.

It has long been acknowledged that teaching and modeling core words is an appropriate place to begin intervention for AAC users. (www.project-core.com) Over my years as mother and homeschool teacher for a child with multiple disabilities including complex communication needs, I have utilized various plans for working on core vocabulary including Speak For Yourself Learning to Speak AACtion Plan and PrAACtical AAC’s Year of Core Word and School Year of Core Word resources.
When my son started combining core vocabulary to communicate across settings with varied communication partners and for different purposes, it seemed appropriate to consider his growing vocabulary needs. I began explicit instruction on additional tier 1 words beyond core and tier 2 words to increase his receptive and expressive language skills. (Comprehensive Literacy For All, Erickson and Koppenhaver.) I used instructional strategies such as examples/non examples, word relationships, and stories. (“Robust Receptive Vocabulary Instruction for Students With Significant Cognitive Disabilities Who Use AAC” Geist and Erickson, Teaching Exceptional Children.) While my experience is limited to working with one child, the frequency that new vocabulary was use spontaneously used mimics the reported research results that I’ve based my intervention on. In my session, I will share our journey and hope to encourage teachers, SLPs, and parents to consider explicit vocabulary instruction beyond core words.

Participants will be able to summarize why explicit vocabulary instruction beyond core words is needed for individuals with complex communication needs. Participants will complete hands-on activities with vocabulary words to better understand the role of the student and to build capacity for teaching others. Participants will be able to identify word lists for consideration, understand the role of using existing core vocabulary on a speech-generating device to build receptive vocabulary, and describe three strategies for teaching vocabulary.