High-Tech AAC For Families

Welcome!

You are here because one or more of your children has a high-tech Augmentative/Alternative Communication (AAC) device. This device was recommended for your child because they have a disability which makes communication challenging for them. This may cause your child, and you, a lot of frustration. The AAC device can help! 

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about your child’s AAC. Here are the 3 steps you will take as you go through this video series, and how long they will take:

• • Step 1: Learn about your child's AAC device (10-20 minutes depending on the device)

  • Step 2: Pick how you want to get started with AAC (5 minutes) 

  • Step 3: Learn about Do's, Don'ts, and "Insteads" for AAC (10 minutes)

Remember, you can always reach out to me for personalized training, too! 

Step 1: Learn about your child's AAC device

Click the picture below that looks most like your child's device. This will take you to a page of information just for that app. When finished, it will prompt you to come back to this page. You can either pick the next app you want to learn about (for example, if you have two children using different apps), or to go on to Step 2. 

Step 2: Pick how you want to get started with AAC

I have two different ways that I recommend for folks to get started with AAC. Usually, one or the other makes more sense to a given person's brain, but they both work equally well! You can pick from activity-first planning or word-first planning below. 

Activity-First Planning:

Activity-based planning means you think about your daily schedule, and then think of things you could teach your child to say on the AAC device during that time. If this sounds like something that would work for you, please check out the worksheet below (from Prentke Romich Company) which lists some common activities that could happen at your home, and the words you could teach your child during that time. 

Word-First Planning:

Word-first planning means you think about the words your child needs to know, and then plan the specific times of your day or activities when it would make sense to use that word. If this sounds like something that would work for you, please check out the worksheet below that I wrote with ideas for how to use the first 15 words that I typically recommend for children to learn. If you prefer a customized list for your child, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Step 3: Learn about Do's, Don'ts, and Insteads for AAC

 What about keeping devices clean?

Here is a great article from AssistiveWare on this topic: How to keep AAC Germ Free. For iPads, Apple has cleaning instructions as well. 

Final Thoughts:

Now that you know more about how to work with your child, you may be wondering about how to get training for other people who work with your child at home. If you have other service providers working with your child, please always let the school team know so we can collaborate with them! In particular, if your child has an ABA therapist working with them at home, you can give them the link to this page, as well the link for the training that I made just for ABA therapists and behavior specialists. 

Thank you so much for watching these videos and learning more about your child's AAC device!

... Can't get enough of AAC?

Me neither! If you've got some time, here are more places you can go from here:

• Shared Reading with AAC Users: Learn about a skill that you can use every day with your child to help them become a better communicator and reader. 

• Presentations For Families, By Families - See the AAC Services page for a list! 

• AAC FAQs Page

• Sharing Home and School News with AAC Devices