© Kate Ahern, M.S.Ed AAC Teaching Toolkit - Flashcards Motivate, Model and Move Out of the Way!

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. 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 Repeating what the AAC user says with clarification “want juice” is recasted as, “I want juice please ”; “she go store” is recasted as “yes, she went to the store” Tips – do not force repetition, but allow child to repeat if desired, use tool frequently Aided Language Stimulation An adult or peer using the child’s AAC system to show how it is used to communicate. You are setting the table. You turn and use the child’s device to say, “It is time for dinner!” 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 Add one word to the phrase or sentence the child produces “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 Perceptual Salience Children as young as ten months learn language by automatically associated a word being said by a caregiver with the thing that interests them. 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 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! 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. Zone of Proximal Development 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 – 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 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