#TalkingAAC 2025

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.