There is a wealth of information and materials for you on our website, so you may be asking yourself, "Where in the world do I start?" No worries, we've got you! This is the first stop in your training! In this unit we will be answering some primary questions to get you started!
Core words and basic social messages are extremely powerful for communication. Social messaging gets us started right away! Core words function both as sight words for reading and writing, and highly frequent words we use to express ourselves and understand others. This training set helps both the classroom team and the students learn how to communicate using these "power words and messages" using speech, the AAC device, communication books and boards or sign language. You'll have slides to help the staff learn, and slides to help the students learn!
AAC Partner Strategy Kits are engaging posters/handouts, descriptions and short videos explaining and modeling techniques for you to use to help your student be willing, and able to communicate using their AAC system!
In this unit of study, we are digging in deeper with concepts around communication with our students with complex communication needs. We will explore the assessment process, goals and treatment and AAC systems.
The Classroom Toolbox is a virtual toolbox of resources to help teachers provide adapted communication supports to students in their classrooms. In here you'll find the Classroom Communication Supports Checklist to help you determine what supports you already have in place, ones you have but aren't using, and ones you are interested in exploring. For every communication support, there's a learning module to explore, with photos, descriptions, components, links to comprehensive resources and curated YouTube videos. These modules will help you confidently increase the communication supports for your students!
START with the Classroom Communication Checklist 2.0. This tool will help you think about the different tools you have in place in the classroom, and consider which ones you might want to learn more about! Using this checklist, go to the TOOLBOX and choose the different modules to explore based on your goals for your own classroom!
5 steps to move from training to talking, give you a clear path for you and your student learner. Learning to communicate is a shared journey between the learner and their partners, and that makes sense! Communication is a shared activity between two people. It is the means for us to make connections, meet our needs, engage socially, participate in shared experiences, and bridge the gap between our experiences and sharing these their partners.
