AAC

Children whose speech is not functional

for all communication needs and
need/use AAC may be refereed to as :
Severe speech and physical
impairment (SSPI)
Complex communication needs (CCN)
Nonverbal

A wide range of etiologies and

severity
Autism
ADD
Stroke, etc.
All host of reasons congenital or not

Types of Communicators
A life long continuum
Emerging communication (non symbolic
only)-> context dependent communicators
(symbolic and non-symbolic, limited
vocabulary, limited partner -> independent
communicators ( all topics, all partners,
spelling possible)
(line continuum)

Will AAC stop the development of

speech?
EI kids are not referred because we want to see if
they develop speech.
Whatever speech a child has, they are going to
use and its going to be hard to augment them
using a device because it may be slow, may not
have what they want to say, and vice/versa
We should use augmented devices earlier

What is ACC?
The devices, displayed as well as
techniques and strategies

Principal of assessment
There is no standardized battery of
tests that compromise an ACC
assessment
We do things that are more
observational or task strategies that to
see what the pt. needs & what
assistance matches their needs

Assessment
Participation + AAC feature + child &
partners = ACC system + intervention

Partner Categories
1. family living w/ individual
2. Close friends
3. Acquaintances
4. Paid people: paraprofessionals,
therapists, etc
5. Unfamiliar Partners
Family & paid people are usually the big
groups of people that interact with these
ppl. We want to expand to the rest of the
groups

Principle AAC assessment

must involve a team
Include specialists form many
disciplines who ideally make
collaborative recommendations
regarding an intervention plan.

Funding source may

determine who does the
assessment
Funding
School district
Medical insurance
Evaluation
At team
Independent evaluator

Participation Model (beukelman &

Mirenda, 2005)

We want kids to participate in a normal

setting
Need to consider how they will
participate in a group, cafeteria,
playground, etc.

Literacy & Learning

If you cannot speak the reading and
writing is affected
If you are stuck w/ a communication
board that some adult ahs chosen for
you, thats the only thing you can say.
Youre like a prisoner of w/e that person
chooses for you.
If you can spell, you can say w/e you
want.

Identify communication
needs
Does the childs current means of
communication meet his needs?
How can we prepare the child to meet
his future needs?

Overall AAC system

Modes
Speech
Facial expressions
Gestures
Body postures
Communication book
AAC deice
Email
Computer
Alphabet board
Phone vocalizations
(circle w/ each branching off)

Low (light) tech AAC

A light to have kids spell out what they
want to say.

High tech devices that

produce synthesized
speech
You type in what you want to say and it says
it
Dynavox Maestro
Nova chat 7 (Saltillo)
Accent 1200
Large, 12 display,
Advanced functionality and user friendly
features
All have dynamic display: going from screen
to screen to screen.
Child has access to millions of words

iPad
Dont cost as much
The software is $200-300
Can be a communicative device
Insurance wont pay for these because its
considered a computer
There are AAC apps
There are no key guards on these things. Key
guards are made for the dedicated devices

Its getting hard to choose btw. AAC & iPads

Selection Technique
Scanning
Eye gaze
Direct Selection
Selection technique can be variable
Not clear cut
Need to consider access & seating

Sensory/perceptual skills
for the kid and his
communicative partner

Positioning & seating

Degree of independent in mobility
Different seating for different environments

Portability
Size & weight
Transport/ mount
Carrier case requirement
Battery time required

Feature Matching
Capabilities + communication = needs
device features