Our sessions at Virtual ISAAC 2026
Teaching with AAC: Embedding Communication, Literacy and Learning Across the Curriculum
Presenters: Amanda Hartmann and Emily Seoud
Date: TBD | Time: TBD
What happens when AAC becomes part of everyday teaching rather than something used only during communication activities?
Over the past six years, Mudgeeraba Special School on the Gold Coast, Australia has intentionally embedded AAC across classrooms, routines, and curriculum. Rather than viewing AAC as a specialised support for a few students, teachers have embraced it as an essential teaching tool that improves communication, increases participation, supports literacy, and provides meaningful access to learning for students with complex communication needs.
This presentation shares the practical journey behind that transformation. Discover how teachers identify the communication and language demands within Australian Curriculum and intentionally plan opportunities for students to communicate, engage, read, write, and learn using AAC throughout the school day.
Through authentic classroom examples, collaborative planning processes, and practical implementation strategies, you'll explore how AAC can support explicit instruction, scaffold classroom participation, strengthen literacy learning, and create more inclusive educational environments. You'll also learn how developing a consistent, school-wide approach builds staff confidence and creates meaningful opportunities for students to actively participate across all learning areas.
Whether you are beginning your AAC journey or looking to strengthen existing practice, you'll leave with practical strategies, planning ideas, and real-world examples that demonstrate how embedding AAC into everyday teaching can transform communication, participation, literacy, and curriculum access for all learners.
Improve Literacy Instruction with Practical Tools and Real-life, Inclusive, and Engaging, Learning Experiences
Presenter: Tina Lorenzana
Date: TBD | Time: TBD
Literacy is a fundamental right and a critical foundation for lifelong learning, communication, and self-advocacy. For children with disabilities—particularly those with complex communication needs—access to meaningful literacy instruction often depends on how effectively educators and families integrate Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) with evidence-based teaching practices. Too often, literacy and AAC are addressed separately, leaving caregivers uncertain about how to support both in cohesive and practical ways.
In this session, participants learn how to apply the principles in the book Comprehensive Literacy for All by Karen Erickson and David Koppenhaver. Using a practical approach that incorporates the pillars of a literacy learning environment with the intentional use of AAC, literacy instruction becomes accessible and achievable—particularly for families of children with disabilities.
This presentation explores how comprehensive literacy principles can be intentionally paired with AAC and supportive educational tools to create inclusive, engaging, learning experiences. With a clear, user-friendly framework, educators, caregivers, and practitioners can embed literacy opportunities into everyday routines, reduce barriers to participation, and foster confidence in teaching reading and writing skills. When AAC is positioned not as an add-on but as an integral component of literacy instruction, families are empowered to nurture language development, independence, and meaningful engagement at home and in school.
Participants will learn a range of literacy activities designed to enhance communication and learning for children and individuals with disabilities such as shared reading and writing, phonics, alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness and vocabulary exploration. Participants will gain insights into effective writing prompts, themes, and creative ideas that foster cognitive engagement and clarity.
Practical tools help to effectively support literacy development. Participants will see examples of how to integrate AAC with the instructional apps of AssistiveWare Learning Service to enhance literacy instruction both in school and at home.
Is Modeling Enough? Balancing Implicit and Explicit Instruction in AAC
Presenters: Euan Robertson and Rachael Langley
Date: TBD | Time: TBD
The field of AAC has become increasingly comfortable with the idea of "modeling without expectation" as a primary strategy for implementing AAC. While modeling is critical, is it enough to "model, model, model" and expect our learners to develop meaningful communication skills?
Explicit instruction is frequently perceived as an inflexible practice that has a focus on mastery. AAC professionals often disregard explicit instruction in favor of in-the-moment modeling and other implicit strategies. In this workshop, we will examine the balance required between explicit and implicit instruction to ensure well-rounded AAC intervention.
This session will highlight features of explicit instruction that support strengths-based interventions. Presenters will share examples of explicit instructional routines while providing flexibility to clinicians and AAC learners. This will include in-depth discussion on the role of a well-designed vocabulary in leveraging opportunities for learning. Join us as we share ideas and strategies which highlight the benefits of explicit instruction while maintaining therapeutic rapport and following the learners lead.
