f you’re a teacher, parent, or therapist, you’re probably already familiar with individual barriers: limited access to tech, unclear goals, or not knowing where to start. But today, we’re looking up and out at the systems around our AAC users—starting with policy and practice barriers.
Recently, a group of powerhouse researchers—Dr. Janice Light, Dr. Susan Fager, Dr. Jessica Gormley, Glenda Watson Hyatt (who also uses AAC), and Erik Jakobs—published an important paper called “Dismantling Societal Barriers that Limit People Who Need or Use AAC.”
One of the most powerful ways to create a truly inclusive classroom is to make sure every student has a way to participate, respond, and be heard.
As speech-language pathologists, supporting literacy and emergent writing for AAC users is a fundamental part of promoting functional communication.
When we don’t provide students with a robust communication system, we don’t actually know what they want to say.
If you walk into a special education classroom where communication is at the center of everything, you can feel it. It’s not about how many devices are present or how many visuals are on the wall (although, sure, those help!).
