Practically Speaking: Language, Literacy, and Academic Development for Students with AAC Needs

When K-12 students use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), what can SLPs and educators do to ensure the best academic and social outcomes? They'll find out in this accessible guidebook—every professional's key to helping students develop the language and literacy skills that lead to higher academic achievement and positive peer relationships.

A must-have guide for educators and SLPs who provide communication support, this book answers pressing questions about working with students who use AAC and helps teachers skillfully meet student needs while satisfying the demands of their curriculum. Pre-service and in-service educators and the SLPs who work with them will learn to

• collaborate effectively to improve outcomes for students who use AAC
• determine student needs through effective, ongoing reading, writing, and language assessments
• develop IEPs based on each child's language, communication, and literacy goals
• help students move beyond emergent literacy and develop the skills research identifies as the keys to reading success
• meet IDEA requirements by adapting the general curriculum so all students participate and achieve
• support students' successful use of various AAC technologies, such as communication boards, word prediction software, and speech generating devices
• supplement classroom instruction with visual and oral scaffolding supports for students with AAC needs
• promote positive social relationships and friendships between students who use AAC and their peers

To provide students who use AAC with the best support, readers will get clear descriptions of instructional techniques, guidelines for curriculum adaptations, and practical tools and visual aids such as model intervention plans, task analysis forms, and charts of sample accommodations.

Balancing practical strategies with up-to-date research, this book unlocks language and literacy skills for children who use AAC and lays the groundwork for long-term school and social success.

Practically Speaking is part of the Augmentative and Alternative Communication Series.