AAC Teaching Toolkit - Flashcards
Motivate, Model and Move Out of the Way!
© Kate Ahern, M.S.Ed. 2012
Non-Directive Interactions
Playing without a goal, a series of
commands or questions. Open
ended, confrontation free
socialization.
You tickle the child and the child says,
“Mom sing”, so you being to sing.
You stop and wait. Child repeats,
“Mom sing”, so you sing again. You
bite your lip and don’t direct child to
“ask more” or ask, “What do we do
now?”
Tips – focus on fun, not directions.
© Kate Ahern, M.S.Ed. 2012
Avoid Yes/No Questions
Use open ended questions or sentences
ending in an expectant pause to ask for
information from the child.
It is lunch time. You say, “I wonder what we
should have for lunch… (expectant
pause). Look, we have bananas and
apples! (Wait.) I want…. (expectant
pause).
Tips – try not to assume you can mind read
what your child is thinking, imagine the
consequences of living a life that is
essentially a true or false quiz.
© Kate Ahern, M.S.Ed. 2012
Recasting
Aided Language Stimulation
Repeating what the AAC user says with
clarification
An adult or peer using the child’s AAC
system to show how it is used to
communicate.
“want juice” is recasted as, “I want
juice please”; “she go store” is
recasted as “yes, she went to the
store”
You are setting the table. You turn and
use the child’s device to say, “It is
time for dinner!”
Tips – do not force repetition, but
allow child to repeat if desired, use
tool frequently
© Kate Ahern, M.S.Ed. 2012
Tips – this is all about showing how the
device is used, do not make the
child copy you or insist they reply.
Use your verbal speech and
modeling at the same time. Do this
as often as possible.
© Kate Ahern, M.S.Ed. 2012
Expanding Utterances
Perceptual Salience
Add one word to the phrase or
sentence the child produces
Children as young as ten months learn
language by automatically
associated a word being said by a
caregiver with the thing that
interests them.
“Car go” becomes “The car goes”; “eat
cookie” because “eat cookie,
please”
Tips – this usually comes very naturally
to parents and teachers, allow
yourself to respond to AAC
messages the same way you would
to developing verbal speech
© Kate Ahern, M.S.Ed. 2012
The child looks and smiles at the toy
car as you push it and say car. Child
attaches the label “car” to the toy.
Tips – point out and speak about the
things your child shows interest in,
let your child guide the process.
© Kate Ahern, M.S.Ed. 2012
Expectant Pause
Zone of Proximal Development
This a pause in conversation in which you
make it obvious you are waiting for a
response. Hold eye contact. Lean toward
the child. Wear an expression of “I can’t
wait to hear this”. And BE QUIET! Let
your child know that it is their turn to say
something by how you act and don’t
speak!
Imagine an inner tube. The empty space in
the middle is what your child can do on
their own. The black tube is where quality
learning happens. The water all around is
where things get lost because they are too
many skill levels away. Your goal is to
speak and teach in the black.
Tips – it is human nature to want to fill silence.
The expectant pause can feel
uncomfortable and strange. Try glancing
at a clock or counting to yourself so you
get to 10, 15 or 30 seconds if that is what
your child needs.
© Kate Ahern, M.S.Ed. 2012
Tips – you know your child well, so let that be
your guide. If you child can tell you she
needs a drink then you model and teach
one step beyond that you model, “I need
a drink of apple juice. I like my purple
cup”. Don’t fall in the middle and just
hand over a drink before she asks and
don’t model, “I would like a refreshing
drink of ice cold apple juice in the
magenta cup.”
© Kate Ahern, M.S.Ed. 2012
Descriptive Teach Method
Think carefully as you ask questions. You want to
phrase things so they can be answered with the
vocabulary currently in the AAC system.
You finish a lesson about the pyramids. Instead of
asking “What did they build?” which requires
use of the fringe word “pyramids” ask, “What
size were the pyramids?” , “Are the pyramids
new or old?” or “Are the pyramids close to our
school or far?” You can leave off the choices if
the student doesn’t need that prompt. Or even
just ask, “Tell me about the pyramids.”
Tip – hand the core words in the students system on
the wall so you can refer to it when asking
questions
© Kate Ahern, M.S.Ed. 2012
Sabotage/
Communication Temptations
Creating a situation where something is
wrong and can only be fixed by use of
the AAC system. Creating a situation
where the user wants something or is
curious to elicit communication.
Give child coloring book and empty crayon
box and then wait for communication.
Deliberately make an error in a daily
routine and wait for the child to correct
you.
Tip – the sillier the error the bigger the
reaction
© Kate Ahern, M.S.Ed. 2012