Implementing Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is not easy so we created a poster and overview series of blog posts about the do's and don'ts of implementing AAC.
There are AAC practices that lead to better outcomes for every AAC user.
There are also practices that lead to poorer outcomes for those same individuals. As we always focus on communication for all, we felt it was important to address both the do's and don'ts together. Sometimes addressing only the good practices might mean the bad ones don’t get tackled too!
Below we list the essential do's and don'ts with accompanying blog posts or articles to read for more in-depth information.
| Do's | Don'ts |
| Aim high | Demand prerequisite skills |
| Use a well-designed, comprehensive vocabulary (core vocabulary or PODD) | Provide an AAC system with only a handful of choices |
| Make sure AAC is available all day, every day | Limit access to the AAC system |
| Respect multimodal communication | Say "now use your talker" |
| Use the AAC system to talk yourself | Expect the AAC user to communicate without you modelling how |
| Focus on key words when modeling | Think you always need to model grammatically correct sentences |
| Allow exploration and access to the whole vocabulary | Create custom pages for specific activities |
| Provide wait time | Do all the talking |
| Ask open-ended questions | Ask questions the AAC user knows you already know the answer to |
| Describe what you want to say using core words | Focus on adding lots of vocabulary |
Remember, communication is a human right, fundamental to literacy development and participation in education, and occurs all day, every day. We are all responsible for making sure this happens for everyone.
Download the AAC Do's and Don'ts poster
View the presentation given by David Niemeijer and Jane Farrall at AGOSCI 2015 that inspired this blog post series and poster.
