1. Teachers’ Toolkit for Students with Little or No Speech
Project overview
November 2018

2. Introduction www.studentswithnospeech.org.au project commenced 2017
NDIA Information Linkages and Capacity Building grant
increasing numbers advocacy cases involving education issues
students missing out on full education, mistreatment
situations where schools and teachers wanted to make it work but didn’t know how
advocacy is a reactive tool
need for proactive way to support students and teachers

3. Process www.studentswithnospeech.org.au
CRA & RMIT outlined project goal and process
Reference group to guide project direction
CRA staff to develop content
Reference group comprised:
Victorian Department of Education
school principals/teachers
speech pathologist
former student with little or no speech
parent of students with little or no speech
Communication Rights Australia
RMIT researcher

4. Goal www.studentswithnospeech.org.au
free, easy to use, practical resource specifically for teachers, especially those new to working with students with little or no speech (LNS)
to help teachers understand the issues commonly faced by students with LNS, and the kind of supports these students may need
about giving teachers the confidence to know how to best support their students
Note:
Focus of Toolkit is students with LNS who use AAC to communicate
There are many other communication disabilities that can occur separate to, or in conjunction with having LNS, such as: pragmatic disorders, receptive language disorders
Toolkit is not intended to specifically cover all of the other communication issues, but much of content is also applicable to students with these other types of communication issues

5. Common issues and supports
misperceptions about ability
being assessed using assessments requiring speech skills
misunderstanding behaviours when student has no functional means to communicate
limited knowledge about AAC and how integral access to AAC is for students to learn and demonstrate their ability
limited knowledge about/access to speech pathologists with AAC expertise
Supports commonly needed:
appropriate assessments
support to access a functional means to communicate
support and adjustments to utilise a communication device/method at school

6. Toolkit Content www.studentswithnospeech.org.au Topics
Background on inclusion (legislative and policy overview)
Communication methods
Student profiles
ILPs and reasonable adjustments
Social supports
Sensory processing
Behaviour supports
Implementation tips for the classroom

7. Toolkit Content (contd)
Checklist of key issues and steps
list of questions answered by the content
interactive
Additional resources
references, key organisations, training options, useful websites etc
Note on geographic relevance of content
key messages are not jurisdiction-specific, it is about rights and approaches that are universal
some content is jurisdiction specific, eg inclusive education policies, state funding programs, key state-based organisations
content originally developed with focus on Victoria but has now been widened to include relevant information from all States and Territories

8. Key messages for teachers
There are alternative ways to assess students who don’t have speech skills to be assessed using standard assessments
Everyone needs a functional means to communicate
Speech pathologists with AAC expertise are key to this
There are many different types of communication systems
Importance of getting to know your students and their communication method and how this can be used in the classroom
Planning and preparation time is critical, need to take into account student’s communication method and recommendations/strategies from student’s speech pathologist
Many different reasonable adjustments and modifications can be made to support students with LNS
Behaviour as a form of communication
Need to understand sensory issues where relevant

9. How has it been received?
Since launch on 31 July:
approx 370 subscribers, with more new subscribers daily (note it is optional to subscribe)
nearly 3500 visitors to the website (4807 sessions)
over 10,000 page views
from 1 Sept to 23 Nov 2018: average of 19 users to website per day, with 25 sessions per day (indicating multiple visits)
on average over this period, number of visits to site per day increasing
High uptake given: specialist topic, infancy of project, focus to date on content and technical functionality (not widespread promotion), limited project team capacity

10. Subscribers breakdown
Total subscribers to date
School staff (teachers, aides, principals, leaders)
Allied health professionals
Parents and students with CSN
Disability sector
(Balance: not specified)

11. Website visitors by country and state

12. Most frequently viewed pages
Homepage
Teachers’ checklist
Communication methods
Understanding inclusion
Using this toolkit
ILP and curriculum adjustments

13. Where to now www.studentswithnospeech.org.au
Raise awareness and increase use
presentations and workshops in schools
explore accreditation as professional development course
explore partnership opportunities eg SPA
Continual improvement
update content eg new programs, provide more examples of strategies and positive implementation
improve as recommended through ongoing feedback
Address challenges
funding & capacity

14. Thank you!