AAC Culture in schools-2021-HANDOUT

AAC for
everyone!
Building an AAC Culture in Schools
Amanda Hartmann Barbara van ’t Westende

Senior Speech Pathologist Senior Speech Pathologist
Australia The Netherlands
© 2021 AssistiveWare. All rights reserved © 2021 AssistiveWare. All rights reserved
“SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF AAC

INTERVENTION REQUIRES THAT ALL KEY
PARTICIPANTS HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE, What is a culture?
SKILLS, AND ATTITUDES TO
CONTRIBUTE TO A TEAM-BASED,
PERSON-CENTRED APPROACH.”
David McNaughton, Janice Light, David R. Beukelman, Chris Klein, Dana Nieder & Godfrey Nazareth (2019) Building capacity in AAC: A person-centred approach to
supporting participation by people with complex communication needs, Augmentative and Alternative Communication, DOI: 10.1080/07434618.2018.1556731
What we see What we do What we say What we think/believe
Culture (/ˈkʌltʃər/) is an umbrella term which

encompasses the social behavior and norms found
in human societies, as well as the knowledge,
beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits
of the individuals in these groups.
Collectively and Consistently
Why an AAC culture in schools?

• AAC for everyone
• Supports AAC to become a habit and integrated
Why create an AAC culture? • Sustainable practice
• Build capacity
• Better outcomes in the long-term
• AAC wildfire? AAC catching on everywhere
• Links closely to better literacy outcomes
• Not waiting for AAC evaluation and trials to get
started
How does an AAC

culture look?
Collectively and Consistently
What we see
• AAC in every class with every student
What we do • Walk the talk
• AAC across all environments
• AAC embedded in lessons
• Communication accessible spaces throughout the day
• Visible in policy and systems • All team members trained
documents (skills and knowledge)
• AAC steering committees/ teams • Shared knowledge
What we say What we think/believe
• Share stories about AAC • Presume competence
• Share successes • Provide opportunities
• Promote AAC across the school • Value of AAC
• Show appreciation • AAC for all (“all means all”)
• Acknowledge the effort
AAC for everyone! AAC user voices

AAC everywhere! Listen
Let their voice drive change
“The goal should not be verbal Building an AAC culture doesn’t happen overnight
speech but good communication.” It’s a marathon, not a sprint!
Alyssa Hilary, AAC user.
The journey to
an AAC culture
Start here
What we see What we do What we see What we do What we say What we think/believe
Impact on skills
And knowledge
Drive change here
Start here Attitude
What we say What we think/believe What we see What we do
Or you will never

build an AAC culture
Drive change here Start here
What you see and what you do
You see AAC in every school space!
All team members can do AAC!
Wear your words! “Wear your words” campaigns

Wear AAC systems for instant access
• Increase awareness
• Reward with raffles -get caught
wearing (and using) your words!
• "Wear your words” day to build
awareness
• Memes
• Sign reminders around school
In classrooms Around the school
Communication Partner training
What communication partners do…

Build skills
1. Modeling
Support in training in 6 key areas

Crucial Communication Partner skills
2. Make comments rather than questions 3. Timing: Pausing and waiting
4. Prompting 5. Response Strategies
6. Accept multi-modal communication
Not enough!
Changing what we see in
the school and what we do,
is not enough!
It is always the AAC users choice as to
who, what, when and how they will communicate!
Barriers continue Tools for change
AAC is the first thing to be dropped
Not embedded, not sustainable
Information, organisation, inspiration but Change from teams, groups and discussions
not intimidation Not from a single person, an
expert nor an authoritative
Tools for change position
4 different tools for change
1. Management tools
2. Power tools 1. Management tools
3. Inspiration tools Making changes to policies & systems
4. Cultural tools Training
Measuring change
School vision and mission Professional Learning Committee

AAC in school future planning documents Form an AAC team/steering committee
Statements like:
“We believe that
all students can
communicate” Dedicated group of school staff, who meet
regularly, to discuss AAC ideas and solutions,
input on changes to policy and practices.
Building staff capacity Staff professional development
• Whole staff professional development • Moving beyond beginning AAC level training
• Ongoing process for new staff • Differentiated for different staffing skills and experience
• Classroom observation and feedback • Skills and knowledge vs practice and fun
• AAC goals linked to the staff performance plan process • Different formats and learning
• Ways to train new staff
• Collegial partners and mentoring
• Make it fun and engaging
New staff training & support Classroom observation and feedback

Links to building staff capacity
• New staff guided induction training packages • Can get greater learning and change to the ways teachers work than
• Planned in advanced traditional staff training
• Flexible to be run as needed • Focus on both classroom environment and skills of all
communication partners
• Collection of resources
• In-school AAC Mentors • Identify AAC champions/ mentors
• In class observation and immediate feedback
• Staff goal setting based on observations
• Regular and ongoing
Staff goal setting Learning sprints
Based on observation and feedback To focus on AAC goals and building/changing habits
• Teachers set personal AAC goals in their self assessments
• eg. “I will consistently integrate AAC modeling when delivering science

lessons”
• eg. “I will direct all staff in my room to use AAC to support my up front
teaching”
• eg. “I will learn more approaches on how to respond to student’s attempts at
communication”
• eg. “I will consistently pause for 3-5 seconds to allow Jack time to respond
during one to one or small group shared reading lessons”
Curriculum planning Beyond the curriculum

Support to embed AAC into curriculum Fun, play-based peer programs to build capacity and staff engagement
• Sector/ year planning meetings - brainstorming word and

language concepts for units of work
• Support from Curriculum leaders in the school - build AAC
knowledge and capacity in leadership positions
• Gather video examples of how it can look
• Sharing resources and ideas at sector/school level
• Supporting teachers to teach with AAC before test with AAC
“Talk time” sessions Keep data
Connect classes and use AAC
• Classes meet once or twice a week • Collect data

• Age appropriate play-based activities planned • On communication partner skills
and environmental changes, as
• Goals: well as student specific
• Modeling AAC at non-curriculum based moments communication skills
(fun not testing)
• Build peer interaction with AAC
• Build staff skills and confidence
Getting staff on board
• Ways to get staff on board

• Encouraged, not threatened
2. Power tools • Providing rewards “bribery” for using AAC
Intimidation • External vs intrinsic motivation
Coercion
Threats
• Appreciation and acknowledgement of more value
Bribery
Lead from the top
• Get leadership on board

• “I’m not using AAC until 3. Inspiration tools
Mrs P does!”
Role modeling
Vision
Story telling
Success stories
© 2021 AssistiveWare. All rights reserved

*** Greatly contributes to attitude change © 2021 AssistiveWare. All rights reserved
Tell stories Celebrate successes

• Celebrate students and staff
• Take videos and photos
• “AAC Champion of the week”
• Share stories at staff meetings
• Share news on social media
• “Word user/Communicator of
the week”
• Tell stories in newsletters, staff
noticeboards, etc. • AAC noticeboard -
acknowledgements and shout
outs!
Lead from the top Teacher AAC champions and watching others work
• Identify teachers who are AAC Champions

• Get leadership on board • Allow them to provide examples of good
• “I’m not using AAC until practice
Mrs P does!” • Give them mentoring opportunities
• Offer additional high level PD to further their
knowledge and skills
• Pair them with inexperienced teachers to
watch them work
Student Peer modeling AAC wildfire

Student Communication leaders Catching on momentum
More people using it than not
Success builds success
Listen to and learn from AAC voices “The goal should not be verbal
Change your attitude
speech but good communication.”
Alyssa Hilary, AAC user.
Ways to listen & learn Changing attitudes
• Invite AAC users to visit your • Always the hardest thing

school
• Be persistent
• Share AAC user stories and blogs
• Find inspiration and role models
• Invite AAC users to share
experiences at school professional • Don’t give up!
learning events
• Join the conversation at the FB
group: “Ask me, I’m an AAC user”
AAC rituals and traditions
• Fun themed AAC days

• “Wear your words” day
4. Cultural tools • AAC shares in every staff meetings
Rituals • Photos and videos shared
Traditions
• AAC used for parades and special
Build your community
events
Build the community: Parents Greater community
Build the greater school community into your AAC culture
• Support for local businesses to be

• Parent information sessions communication accessible
• Parent Poster • Staff ready for orders from AAC devices
• Sharing stories and videos • Business having more visual and
on social media communication accessible materials
• Paper-based AAC tools • AAC in local cafes, garden centres,
shared home bowling alley, anywhere!
How fast people change
Barriers to
success
Jets Turtles
• Support the AAC habit - what • Issues passed from person to person
we see and do
• No-one taking responsibility for
• Start small and set goals change and/or leadership
• Have policy and systems in
place to support building the
habit
Build a habit Hot potato
• People pretending to succeed

• Leadership avoid conflict - they do
not challenge those teachers who
refuse to change
Avoiding conflict Pretending
• People “too busy” with daily work to
add something new START TODAY!
Build an AAC Culture in Schools
Too busy
AAC for AAC

everyone! everywhere!
See the benefits!
Questions
© 2021 AssistiveWare. All rights reserved

support@assistiveware.com © 2020 AssistiveWare. All rights reserved
Amanda Hartmann Barbara van ’t Westende

Senior Speech Pathologist Senior Speech Pathologist
Australia The Netherlands
support@assistiveware.com
Symbols © 2021 SymbolStix, LLC © 2021 AssistiveWare. All rights reserved
Symbols © 2021 SymbolStix, LLC © 2020 AssistiveWare. All rights reserved

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AAC for

Amanda Hartmann Barbara van ’t Westende

“SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF AAC

Culture (/ˈkʌltʃər/) is an umbrella term which

Collectively and Consistently

Why an AAC culture in schools?

How does an AAC

• Share successes • Provide opportunities

• Promote AAC across the school • Value of AAC

• Show appreciation • AAC for all (“all means all”)

• Acknowledge the effort

AAC for everyone! AAC user voices

What we see What we do What we say What we think/believe

What we say What we think/believe What we see What we do

Or you will never

Wear your words! “Wear your words” campaigns

Communication Partner training

What communication partners do…

Support in training in 6 key areas

2. Make comments rather than questions 3. Timing: Pausing and waiting

6. Accept multi-modal communication

School vision and mission Professional Learning Committee

New staff training & support Classroom observation and feedback

• Teachers set personal AAC goals in their self assessments

• eg. “I will consistently integrate AAC modeling when delivering science

Curriculum planning Beyond the curriculum

• Sector/ year planning meetings - brainstorming word and

• Classes meet once or twice a week • Collect data

Getting staff on board

• Ways to get staff on board

• Get leadership on board

© 2021 AssistiveWare. All rights reserved

Tell stories Celebrate successes

• Identify teachers who are AAC Champions

Student Peer modeling AAC wildfire

• Invite AAC users to visit your • Always the hardest thing

AAC rituals and traditions

• Fun themed AAC days

• Support for local businesses to be

How fast people change

• People pretending to succeed

Avoiding conflict Pretending

AAC for AAC

© 2021 AssistiveWare. All rights reserved

Amanda Hartmann Barbara van ’t Westende

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