Written By: Alia Shoemaker, MS CCC-SLP
October is AAC Awareness Month, and at Child’sPlay we will take any opportunity to celebrate our incredible AAC users and their families! We appreciate your dedication to supporting AAC users outside the clinic – it’s not easy, but you’re crushing it!
Carryover is important for all our clients at Child’sPlay, and we strive to offer strategies and family education after each session so that you can continue to support your child’s learning at home. Carryover is especially important for our AAC clients. Did you know…
“An 18-month-old child has been exposed to 4,380 waking hours of oral language. A typical AAC user, exposed to modeling two times a week for 30 minutes, would take 84 years to have the same level of exposure.” (You Are A Model – AAC Community)
Yes, 84 years is a daunting number – this reflects exposure to AAC modeling in twice-weekly speech therapy sessions, but no other environments. Thankfully, we can close the gap! Anyone who interacts with an AAC user – parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers, peers, coaches, you name it – can support AAC users by modeling without expectation.
“Modeling without expectation” means showing an AAC user how to use their device to communicate without requiring active participation or a response from them. The AAC user does NOT have to repeat after you, let you guide their hand to the screen, or even look at the device every time you model with it. Modeling doesn’t have to be perfect, fast, or include every word from your sentence. By modeling communication with a device throughout your day, going about your usual routine, you are giving them an example that they can follow when they’re ready – just like we would do with our vocal language learners! Here is a great example from Tobii Dynavox’s website: Modeling AAC Example
If you are new to this topic and are wondering if AAC may benefit your loved one, please refer to our Is AAC Right For My Child blog post or ask us for more information! At Child’sPlay Therapy Center, we proudly offer the following services to pediatric AAC clients and their families:
- Therapy sessions incorporating AAC modeling and education
- AAC Evaluations (for pursuit of dedicated devices)
- AAC Office Hours (consultations, editing assistance, family education)
