You could have all the experience in the world with using AAC in person and still feel like you’ve hit a brick wall when asked to use it in telepractice. First off, don’t be afraid to ask for help! Teletherapy groups on Facebook are full of therapists who are happy to send their recommendations. I’ll add the suggestions I received at the end of this post.
But first, I have a few tips before searching for a premade system.
- Remember that each student using AAC should have an individualized program. What works for one student may not be appropriate for another. There’s a wide range of ability levels regarding AAC users, and none of us know it all. There’s no shame in saying you don’t know what to do when a student starts from scratch, but you would feel like a pro if someone showed up with something like the Accent 1000 using a field size of 16-32 (for example).
- It doesn’t have to be complicated. You can insert visuals into a Google Slides or PowerPoint presentation and keep them consistent (as you would if using something like a PECS system). For example, a “help” visual on the left-hand corner of each slide and an “I need a break” visual on the top right-hand corner of each slide. Just do as you would in person when printing off, laminating, and velcroing images, but instead, copy and paste them into the activity you are using. YouTube has some great tutorials on adding sound effects to images, or you can communicate with the parent/aide to let you know when the client taps the visual on the screen. I would also encourage you to email the activity to whoever is there for support so they can print it and have the images in front of the client (if touching a screen could become problematic).
- If you are working with an individual or a group with a physical AAC device in their hands, encourage them to use it with your activity. This is a great way to consult with the parent or aid so they can use it in other settings. It can be as simple as showing a picture of the beach and asking them, “Where is this?” (they will then have to go to the places section of their device), “Do you like the beach?” (if working on yes/no questions on the device), “When do you go to the beach?” (they’ll be encouraged to go to the time section to find “summer” or “in the morning” or something along those lines), “How does it feel outside?” (they should go to the adjectives section and push something like “hot”). These are just examples, but I hope you get the idea! I love doing this simple activity because you see if they are independent or need maximum prompting to use their device. This is also great when working with a group of AAC users on various goals- you can involve that entire class and feel accomplished that you served as a model to the teachers and aids working with those students all day, every day.
A Few Websites that offer AAC support in the Virtual Setting
