AAC, IEP Goals and Beyond Margaret Perkins, M.A.CCC-SLP, ATP

IDEA A major focus of IDEA has been to address meaningful access to general education. Alignment of IEP goals to state standards is how we insure accountability to the access of general education curriculum

Special Education and IDEA Today in Special Education overall Goals written are moving towards Grade Level Curriculum (with modification) Alignment with State Standards Meaningful and functional Today in Special Education: Assistive Technology is addressed in every IEP. Purpose of Assistive Technology is to insure access to curriculum.

Special Education, AAC and IDEA Today in Special Education Augmentative and Alternative Communication is often approached as a separate and isolated skill resulting in a disconnection from educational goals. AAC Goals can be written that address: Grade Level Curriculum (with modifications) Aligned with State Standards Language skills that are meaningful and functional to the individual student for both educational and communication needs.

“If you don’t know where your going any road will take you there” Lewis Carroll quotation from Alice in Wonderland

AAC in the school setting: Where do we want to go? Students to achieve proficiency in the ability to communicate using AAC. Students to achieve success in meeting educational based goals because they are adept AAC users Remember: The use of technology should not be considered an educational outcome, but rather a means toward achieving independence and success through active participation.

How do we get there? 1. Start with assessment: Team assessment 2. Determine present level of performance: strengths and needs 3. Determine how present level of performance affects involvement and progress in general education curriculum and grade expectations 4. Connect this information to accommodations and/or modifications 5. Write Goals based on present level of performance identified 6. Provide authentic opportunities to use the skills that they are being taught

Areas to address Operational competence: Technical skills required to operate a system - i.e. the motor and cognitive skills required to signal a message or to operate specific device features (touching scene, navigating, visual scanning, operating switches, etc.). Linguistic competence: Language (vocabulary and grammar) understanding and use of the code (e.g. signs or symbols) required to operate the AAC Social competence: Knowledge and use of the social rules of communication, (i.e. eye contact, turn taking, initiating, talking and using communication for a variety of reasons - commenting, requesting items, responding, questioning, directing, etc.. Strategic competence: The ability to adapt communicative style to suit the receiver i.e. repeating, clarification, speaking louder or turning device up… Light J (1989) Toward a Definition of Communicative Competence for Individuals using Augmentative and Alternative Communication Systems AAC Vol 5 (2).

Team Operational competence: O.T., SLP, Educator: Motor and operational Linguistic competence: SLP, Educator: Language (vocabulary and grammar) Social competence: SLP, Educator: Pragmatics Strategic competence: SLP: Pragmatics

A Noun Focus May Be Appropriate for Typically Developing Children Manual A Noun Focus May Be Appropriate for Typically Developing Children Standardized tests in the field of speech and language exert pressure on professionals to emphasize nouns Language tests for young children focus on noun identification Basal or entry scores often require five or more consecutive noun identifications Functional core vocabulary, however, is not noun rich Clinicians are systematically directed toward noun teaching as opposed to language teaching to prepare students for success on standardized tests

What Words do Children and Adults Really Use? Manual What Words do Children and Adults Really Use? 78 percent of the words we use daily are drawn from a core of fewer than 400 words These 400 words are used over and over and are called core vocabulary Core vocabulary is consistent across clinical populations, activities, places, topics and demographic groups Less frequently occurring words are called fringe vocabulary (typical adult vocabulary has 10,000+ fringe words)

The Vocabulary of Toddlers Manual The Vocabulary of Toddlers Banajee, DiCarlo & Stricklin, (AAC 2000) Participants 50 toddlers between the ages of 2 & 3 years Thirty-four girls and sixteen boys Used a variety of 2 to 3 word utterances Spontaneously initiated interaction, maintained interaction by taking turns, and terminated interaction appropriately Consistently followed simple one step directives and some two-step directives without gestures This slide speaks for itself. You may wish to read certain lines and ask participants to read certain lines.

Manual Language Analysis 10 words were used across all activities and environments Syntactic functions expressed included pronouns (I, you), verbs (want) and demonstratives (this, it) Pragmatic and semantic functions expressed included requesting action (want), negation (no), affirmation (yes), and establishing joint attention (that, it) A lack of nouns was noted

Why the Problem? Why do Speech Pathologists and clinicians focus on noun labeling and noun vocabulary growth? Easy to assess Clear, definable target goals Clinicians determine noun labeling skills to be precursor to language development Most early assessment tools focus on noun labeling skills

Not Applicable to AAC Users Focus on noun labeling does not teach communication skills necessary for language growth Students are trained to label objects, but lack language skills to be able to use in language context

Which Assessments to Use? Review of commonly used vocabulary assessments for preschool language Determine frequency of core language vocabulary as opposed to noun “fringe” labeling Determine which assessments provide the clinician information on a student’s ability to acquire and use core vocabulary

Vocabulary Assessments Breakdown of words by parts of speech Amount of core vocabulary addressed 26 core words (Banajee, DiCarlo & Stricklin) 333 core words (Marvin, Beukelman, Bilyeu) Ceiling levels for testing Addresses vocabulary up to the 6 year level

Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test- III Parts of Speech Total number 26 core words (Banajee) 333 core words (Marvin) Noun 31 1 (hand) Verb 14 (going) 5 (drinking, jumping, fly, painting, going) Adj. 3 Preposition Ceiling: 8 or more errors in a set (12 items)

Beery Picture Vocabulary Test Parts of Speech Total number 26 core words (Banajee) 333 core words (Marvin) Noun 34 1 (girl) Verb Adj. Preposition Ceiling: 8 consecutive errors

(car, house, chair, hand, door, people) Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test Parts of Speech Total number 26 core words (Banajee) 333 core words (Marvin) Noun 34 6 (car, house, chair, hand, door, people) Verb 7 1 (cutting) Adj. 3 (open) Preposition Ceiling: 6 or more errors in a set (8 items)

Expressive Vocabulary Test Parts of Speech Total number 26 core words (Banajee) 333 core words (Marvin) Noun 29 6 (car, dog, ball, hand, house, leaf) Verb 3 1 (going) 2 (biting, run) Adj. 5 (red, blue, green, three, five) Preposition Ceiling: 5 consecutive errors

Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test Parts of Speech Total number 26 core words (Banajee) 333 core words (Marvin) Noun 36 5 (tree, bird, swing, leaf, cup) Verb 1 (paint) Adj. Preposition Ceiling: 6 consecutive errors

Concepts Preschoolers talk about Core vocabulary studies demonstrate a large amount of testable concepts to be words that preschoolers most often use These include: up/down, before/after, in/out, open/shut, first/middle/last, big/little, mine/yours, some/many/all/more/most

Comprehensive Language Assessments Many have an expressive vocabulary subtest component Vocabulary skills are usually 1/3 or greater of overall language score Vocabulary subtests follow similar patterns to standard vocabulary assessment tools Assessment tools that addressed Concepts tended to utilize more core vocabulary than others

Some Language Assessment Tools that include concepts and a variety of parts of speech Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF) - Preschool* Boehm Test of Basic Concepts* Preschool Language Scale (PLS) Structured Photographic Expressive Language Test Preschool Language Assessment Instrument Test of Language Development Evaluating Acquired Skills in Communication - Informal Communication Skills Inventory * receptive language tests of concept knowledge

Boehm Test of Basic Concepts Designed for preschoolers Normed for ages 3.0 to 5.0 15 minutes to administer Taped recordings of “teacher talk” - the language used by teachers in the classrooms 1/3 of directional sentences used at least one concept 70% of vocab items were used by all teachers

Core Vocabulary Used in Boehm Total number % of words Examples Total words assessed 26 100 26 core words (Banajee) 1 3.8 up 333 core words (Marvin) 14 54 Long(est), down, all, many, middle, high(est), together Non-nouns

(drinking, jumping, fly, painting, going) Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test- III Parts of Speech Total number 26 core words (Banajee) 333 core words (Marvin) Noun 31 1 (hand) Verb 14 (going) 5 (drinking, jumping, fly, painting, going) Adj. 3 Preposition Ceiling: 8 or more errors in a set (12 items)

Comprehensive Language Assessments Many have an expressive vocabulary subtest component Vocabulary skills are usually 1/3 or greater of overall language score Vocabulary subtests follow similar patterns to standard vocabulary assessment tools Assessment tools that addressed Concepts tended to utilize more core vocabulary than others

Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals - Preschool Core Lang. Recep. Lang (3-4) (5-6) Ex. (3-6) Content (3-4) Struc Sentence Structure Word Structure Expressive Vocab Concepts and FD Recalling Sentences Basic Concepts Word Classes - Receptive Word Classes - Total

Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals Comprehensive language assessment tool 7 subtests Assesses both receptive and expressive language skills

Sentence Structure subtest Includes receptive vocabulary for: in, under, towards, will, first, two, third, before, shouldn’t, front, although Point to “the first two children are in line, but the third child is still playing”

Core Vocabulary used for SS Total number % of words Examples Total words assessed 60 100 26 core words (Banajee) 5 8.3 Is, it,you, in, the 333 core words (Marvin) 28 47 Before, being, black, box, find, can, go, girl, hold, need, sit, she, tree, ready, you, your Non-nouns 50 83

Point to “She is climbing and he is swinging”

Basic Concepts subtest Assesses a child’s receptive understanding of concepts Similar to Boehm test Includes direction, quantity, sequence, attribute, size, same/different

Long(est), down, all, many, middle, high(est), together Core Vocabulary for BC Total number % of words Examples Total words assessed 18 100 26 core words (Banajee) 1 5.5 up 333 core words (Marvin) 8 44 Long(est), down, all, many, middle, high(est), together Non-nouns

Concepts and Following Directions subtest Includes both concepts and multi-step directions Multiple modifiers “Point to the dog before you point to the turtles”

Core Vocabulary in C&FD Total number % of words Examples Total words assessed 27 100 26 core words (Banajee) 3 11.1 I, you, the 333 core words (Marvin) 13 48 Next to, or, then, both, all, after, first, last Non-nouns

Word Structure subtest Expressive Language subtest Child’s use of morphology “Here is a shoe. It is small. Here is a shoe. _________ .”

On, she, they, in, her, box, big, chair Core Vocabulary for WS Total number % of words Examples Total words assessed 30 100 26 core words (Banajee) 4 13.3 In, on, it, is 333 core words (Marvin) 12 40 On, she, they, in, her, box, big, chair Non-nouns 24 80

Word Classes subtest Receptive and expressive subtest Ask student which two items go together Have student explain why (“you take them to the beach”)

Recalling Sentences Subtest Student repeats back a sentence verbatim Scored for OK (3), 1 error (2), 2-3 errors (1) and 0 score for 4+ errors Many of our AAC students have difficulty with remembering fringe vocabulary and core vocabulary for syntax He is nice. They play with blocks. The boy fell and hurt himself. Didn’t the boys eat the apples? The rabbit was not put in the cage by the girl.

Play, they, with, boy, girl, big, dog, because Core Vocabulary in RS Total number % of words Examples Total words assessed 110 100 26 core words (Banajee) 25 22.7 a, the 333 core words (Marvin) 73 66 Play, they, with, boy, girl, big, dog, because Non-nouns 80 72

Some Good Ones… Test of Language Development (TOLD) - Primary Includes an Oral Vocabulary subtest where the student is asked to tell what words mean For example, “What is a dog?” - the student can respond by using core vocabulary with selective fringe vocabulary (“It is an animal”, “It is furry”) “What is an apple?” (“You eat it.”)

Structured Photographic Expressive Language Test Asks student to look at a picture and “tell” about it Includes expressive concepts, preposition/spatial relations, number and quantity, tense of verbs, etc. Includes questions (“Do you want some?”, “Is this yours?”) For children ages 4 to 9

Structured Photographic Expressive Language Test - II “Tell me about this picture” Acceptable: He draws, is drawing, writes, is writing

Yes, not, my, the, want,is, it, that, go, what, help Core Vocabulary Used Total number % of words Examples Total words assessed 74 100 26 core words (Banajee) 16 22 Yes, not, my, the, want,is, it, that, go, what, help 333 core words (Marvin) 44 59 Was, were, that, some, my, would, why, your, doesn’t, because, eat, going, her, help Non-nouns 68 92

Last words Vocabulary is important, but only as it has relevance to a students use of it in language. Using assessment tools that reflect core vocabulary, may provide you with a more accurate depiction of a student’s language skills and the goals and benchmarks needed to reach them

Remember when writing AAC into your child’s IEP One of the jurors had a pencil that squeaked. This, of course, Alice could not stand, and she went round the court and got behind him, and very soon found an opportunity of taking it away. She did it so quickly that the poor little juror (it was Bill the Lizard) could not make out at all what had become of it, so, after hunting all about for it, he was obliged to write with one finger for the rest of the day, and this was of very little use, as it left no mark on the slate.

Literacy and Language Listening, speaking, reading and writing are interrelated and develop concurrently Growth in any of the four areas fosters growth in the others Unavailability of any one area limits growth in all four areas The most powerful intervention involves all four components simultaneously Baker, 1997 This applies to Language, AAC and Curriculum

Aligning to State Standards Rather than a “cookbook” approach: Suggestions on what AAC goals to align to state standards Suggestions on how to align to state standards

One more thing... We are addressing aligning AAC goals to State Standards For students who are enrolled in a Special Day Class (California) they already have functional goals that are aligned to State Standards Can we keep all of this straight?

What AAC goals to align Operational Issues involved may include: Cognitive- i.e. sequencing Motor- i.e. motor movement-accuracy Sensory- i.e. vision *access to curriculum

What AAC goals to align Appropriate use of greetings Pragmatic/Social Language (use) Appropriate use of greetings Conversational skills Initiating Turn taking Making requests/Answering requests Pragmatics/Strategic (use) Using core vocabulary when specific vocabulary is not available Repair strategies/Clarify, rephrase, expand… *Narrative skills-Directly related to literacy

What AAC goals to align Linguistic-semantics Meaning of single words Meaningful relations of words (agent-action, possession, negation…) Word knowledge/Concepts / Categorization / Comparison… * All areas of academics are affected by a weakness in semantics

What AAC goals to align Linguistics/Morphology Linguistics/Syntax Smallest elements of meaning (plural, tense markers, comparatives…) Linguistics/Syntax Parts of speech, word order, and sentence construction *Grammar errors in written language *Difficulty comprehending complex sentences in written language

How to Align to State Standards Use a systematic approach Address: Language needs Academic needs State standards that underlying Language needs and Academic needs both affect Aligned goal

Language Skill addressed-Grade level Language area addressed: Academic area addressed: Content Standard: Aligned AAC goal Present level of Performance:

Pragmatic/Social Grade 2 Language area addressed: Pragmatics/ Topic maintenance Present level of Performance: Pragmatics: During conversation Suzie will imitate comments and asks questions when given a direct verbal and visual cue 8 out of 10 opportunities

Pragmatic/Social Grade 2 Language area addressed: Pragmatics/ Topic maintenance Academic area addressed: Comprehension strategies to understand grade-level-appropriate material Present level of Performance: Pragmatics: During conversation Suzie will imitate comments and asks questions when given a direct verbal and visual cue 8 out of 10 opportunities Present level of Performance: Comprehension of short story Following the reading of a short story Suzie can answer (who, what, where, when) questions with 30% accuracy

Pragmatic/Social Grade 2 Language area addressed: Pragmatics/ Topic maintenance Academic area addressed: Comprehension strategies to understand grade-level-appropriate material Content Standard: English/Language Arts Aligned AAC goal Present level of Performance: Pragmatics: During conversation Suzie will imitate comments and asks questions when given a direct verbal and visual cue 8 out of 10 opportunities Present level of Performance: Comprehension of short story Following the reading of a short story Suzie can answer (who, what, where, when) questions with 30% accuracy Reading Comprehension 2.0.4 Ask clarifying questions about essential textual elements of exposition (e.g., why, what if, how). Reading comprehension 2.0 Ask and answer questions about a text Following the reading of a short story Suzie will demonstrate topic maintenance by asking questions and/or making comments 4 out of 5 opportunities for at least 4 turns using her AAC device

Pragmatics/Strategic Grade 4 Language area addressed: Pragmatics/ Clarification Academic area addressed: Organizing and delivering oral information Content Standard: English/Language Arts Aligned AAC goal Present level of Performance: Pragmatics: Suzie will give information using one to two word phrases and when communication partner indicates that he/she does not understand by repeating but she does not rephrase or expand her sentence. Present level of Performance: Suzie uses one to two word phrases to deliver information. Listening and Speaking 1.1.8 Use details, examples, anecdotes, or experiences to explain or clarify information Alternative Level Speaking and Listening:1.0 Goal:Use appropriate conversational skills When given an indirect verbal cue Suzie will give an expanded sentence, for example “eat” to “ I want to eat” or “I don’t want to eat” or “I want to eat that” or “Do you want to eat” 4 out of 5 opportunities using her AAC device.

Linguistic Grade 4 Language area addressed: Syntax: Past tense Pronoun Phrases Academic area addressed: Describe: social, political, cultural,& economic life of the people of California Content Standard: History-Social Studies 4.2.5 Aligned AAC goal Present level of Performance: Susie uses only present tense pronouns when relating information or sharing experiences with her communication partner. Uses past tense phrases with icons when given physical prompts 8 of 10 opportunities. Following a paragraph about California history Suzie retells two pieces of information in sentences using present progressive tense. California: A Changing State 4.2.5 Describe the daily lives of the people, native and non-native, who occupied the presidios, missions, ranchos, and publos Sociology Standard 1 Student will observe, analyze, and interpert human behaviors and relationships to acquire a better of self and others while developing communication skills Following a story, given a visual cue Suzie will relate information of past events or experiences using appropriate past tense phrases i.e. She felt…He liked… It had… with 80% accuracy

Linguistic Grade 7 Language area addressed: Semantics Academic area addressed: Students use strategies, skills, and concepts in finding solutions Content Standard: Mathematics Mathematical Reasoning Aligned AAC goal Present level of Performance: Suzie will use a descriptor vocabulary word in a sentence when she has a visual and verbal prompt with 60% accuracy. When given two shapes to compare/contrast Suzie is able to describe attributes with 40% accuracy 2.2.6 Mathematical: Express the solution clearly and logically by using the appropriate mathematical notation and terms and clear language; support solutions with evidence in both verbal and symbolic work. Discrete Mathematics2.0 Will sort and classify by attributes Given a visual cue Suzie will answer in a complete sentence, using her AAC device, math related description questions (i.e. It is smaller, larger, more, less, the same as…) 4 out of 5 opportunities

Other AAC goals that can be easily aligned Because they are specific rather than general there are many AAC goals that are easily aligned in the areas of: English/Language Arts Phonology Mathematics Access to math vocabulary Access to Function (i.e. calculator) (see handout)

Language Skill addressed-Grade level Language area addressed: Expressive Language Academic area addressed: Recognize and name all uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet Content Standard: Reading: Word Analysis K1.1.6 Aligned AAC goal Present level of Performance: Susie can answer “wh” questions non-verbally regarding letters of the alphabet using a communication board Susie can identify the letters: b,c,t,s,m given a verbal cue and letters on an alphabet board by pointing Given a verbal cue Suzie will identify, using her AAC device all lower case letters of the alphabet 4 out of 5 opportunities

Now that we have the goals, what’s next? Successful integration and participation of students into the general education class Understanding of concepts addressed Get adult buy-in Reframing assessments Collaboration, Collaboration, Collaboration Use what you have Check-ins Provide authentic opportunities to use and learn skills

Implementation Issues Team approach: Make sure everyone on the team is on the same page “I can understand everything they want/need” This may be true for some members of the team so THOSE team members are in the position to: Help broaden communication partners Raise expectations for the student and staff Provide language models beyond nouns and close-ended questions

AAC and Literacy “Approximately 70% of individuals with severe communication impairments are significantly behind their peers in literacy learning.” Koppenhaver & Yoder, 1992

Integrate AAC and Literacy Listening, speaking, reading and writing are interrelated and develop concurrently Growth in any of the four areas fosters growth in the others Unavailability of any one area limits growth in all four areas The most powerful intervention involves all four components simultaneously Koppenhaver et al., 1991; Maehr, 1991; Teale & Sulzby, 1989 Baker, 1997

Basic Components of Literacy Oral Language: Listening and speaking Phonological awareness: Relationship between written letters and spoken sounds Phonemic awareness: Work with individual sounds in spoken words (blocks) Fluency: Read text accurately and effectively Writing: Create written works

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