Yes-no questions are everywhere; in routines, in assessments, in conversations, in behavior supports. Because they’re short and familiar, it’s easy to assume they’re simple.
Our students do need repeated opportunities to learn where words are, how their systems are organized, and how to use those words across the day. But if we are not careful, AAC instruction can become a set of drills that are technically correct but not especially meaningful.
Are we using technology because it truly supports learning, or because it became our default during the pandemic?
When AAC is introduced, we’re asking people to trust something that doesn’t work right away and keep going without clear feedback that it’s “working.”
I recently attended a webinar when the presenter mentioned “We aren’t using word walls anymore.” Needless to say, my mind was blown and I immediately started down a rabbit hole to figure out if and why word walls may have fallen out of favor.
At this stage, communication often does not look the way people expect it to look. It may be reaching, pointing, giving an object, making eye contact, using a facial expression, changing body position, or moving toward a familiar place or person.
