Introduction to Augmentative and alternative communication AAC

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Introduction to Augmentative and alternative
communication (AAC)

• Jill Andrus, M.S., CCC-SLP

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Case Study Shawnie
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Fact

• 3.5 million Americans (1.3) have such
  significant communication disabilities that they
  cannot rely on their natural speech to meet their
  daily communication needs
• Without access to speech, these individuals are
  severely restricted in their communication and
  participation in all aspects of life education,
  employment, family, and community

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Experiment

• Think about the place that you spend the most
  time
• With whom do you communicate?
• How do you communicate?
• How would you communicate if you were not able to
  do so verbally?
• Would it change your life?

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Communication and Language

• Communication and language skills allow a person
  to
• Initiate, maintain, and terminate conversations
• Establish/maintain interpersonal relationships
• Share ideas
• Express feelings
• Give information
• Ask questions
• Describe events
• Solve problems
• Direct others
• Entertain
• Show imagination
• Refuse
• Learn
• Function with greater independence

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Perspective

• If all my possessions were taken from me with
  one exception, I would choose to keep the power
  of communication, for by it, I would soon regain
  all the rest.
• Daniel Webster

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What is AAC (Augmentative and Alternative
Communication)?

• AAC involves attempts to study and when necessary
  compensate for temporary or permanent
  impairments, activity limitations, and
  participation restrictions of persons with severe
  disorders of speech-language production and/or
  comprehension, including spoken and written modes
  of communication. (ASHA, 2005)

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AAC Devices

• Used by people who do not speak, are difficult to
  understand, or have language retrieval issues
• AAC devices are used by people of all ages with a
  variety of disabilities
• A person can send a message through printed
  words, speech or voice output, pictures, or any
  combination

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AAC Demographics

• All age groups, socioeconomic groups, ethnic and
  racial backgrounds
• The only unifying characteristic is the fact
  that, for whatever reason, they require adaptive
  assistance for speaking and/or writing, because
  their gestural, speech, and/or writing
  communication is temporarily or permanently
  inadequate to meet all of their communication
  needs.

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Who uses AAC?

• Those with
• An intellectual disability
• Cerebral palsy
• Autism
• Apraxia of speech
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Acquired Physical Disabilities (ALS, Multiple
  Sclerosis, Parkinsons Disease)
• Aphasia

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Goal of AAC Intervention

• The goal of AAC intervention is not to find a
  technological solution to communication problems
  but to enable individuals to efficiently and
  effectively engage in a variety of interactions
  and participate in activities of their choice.

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REMEMBER

• The MESSAGE, not the medium is what matters for
  people who cannot use their own voices.
• (McDonald, 1994)

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No/Low/Mid/High Tech Devices

• No Tech systems does not require a power source
• Low Tech systems requires a source of power and
  is very easy to program
• Mid Tech Systems requires a power source and
  requires some level of training to adequately
  program and maintain the device
• High Tech Systems requires a power source and
  extensive training to competently program and
  maintain the device

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Types of No/Low Tech Devices

• Eye gaze boards
• Wallets
• Books/Boards
• Single Message Switch
• Sequencer
• Multiple Message Devices

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Picture Exchange Communication System
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Types of Mid Tech Devices

• Go Talk
• Cheap Talk
• Communication Builder
• 32 Message Communicator

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High Tech Devices

• Dynavox
• Palmtalk
• Dynawrite
• Tango
• Cyrano
• ECO
• Vanguard

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Dynavox
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Prentke Romich
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Cyrano
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Tango
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Funding Sources

• Out of Pocket
• Schools
• Private Insurance
• Other Interested Parties
• Easter Seals, rotary clubs, and fraternal
  organizations in your community.
• Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA)
• Tricare
• Tricare is an insurance program for active duty
  and retired military personnel plus their
  dependents.
• Vocational Rehabilitation

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AAC is not magic!

• Just like a piano alone doesnt make a pianist,
  nor does a basketball make an athlete. Likewise,
  an AAC device alone doesnt make one a competent,
  proficient communicator. (Beukelman, 1991).
  Those who rely on AAC strategies begin as AAC
  novices and evolve in competence to become AAC
  experts with appropriate SUPPORT, INSTRUCTION,
  PRACTICE, and ENCOURAGEMENT.

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Something to think about

• The silence of speechlessness is never golden.
  We all need to communicate and connect with each
  other not just in one way, but also in as many
  ways as possible. It is a basic human need, a
  basic human right. And much more than this, it
  is a basic human power. (Williams, 2000)

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Shawnie Edith Bowen Elections
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QUESTIONS