1. Communication Partner Strategies
For Peds and Adults

2. Teaching AAC strategies
Why?
“Technology alone does not make a competent communicator any more than a piano makes a musician or a basketball and a hoop make an athlete.” (Beukelman &Mirenda,1998)
How?
Need to know in order to teach
Just use good normal language development, children begin using individual words and word combinations; AAC uses the same basic rules
Be an active communication partner

3. What is a “Communication Partner”?
A partner is “one who joins in the activity of another.”
As a communication partner, what can YOU do to
help support communication success
help increase active participation

4. What can ENCOURAGE your client to communicate
It has to be motivational to YOUR client or why would they want to communicate?!
We need to respect & encourage ALL their modes of expression
AAC is not natural, so be patient, slow down & let them have opportunities to be successful!
HAVE FUN!

5. What can DISCOURAGE your client from communicating
Test, bombard, or demand responses (“what is this called?”)
Use rhetorical questions (“you want milk, don’t you?”
Use YES/NO questions
Anticipate their needs so they don’t have to ask

6. Strategies Know what motivates communication
Have an expectation of communication
Know where vocabulary is in the system
Know what language you are trying to target

7. Identify your expectations
Beginner/Emergent: learning to identify symbols or auditory cues, learning what vocabulary is available, learning to navigate
Intermediate/Supported: knows where to look for vocabulary, self-corrects, uses multiple strategies to get point across
Advanced/Independent: uses more complex language, needs to generalize skills to natural conversations
What level is your client?

8. Communication Functions
Choice Making/Requesting
Greetings/Closings
Gaining Attention
Protesting/Terminating
Commenting
Directing
Asking/Questioning
Demonstrating knowledge and/or sharing information
ID your goal

9. Pediatric Clients Modeling
Communication Expectations within Daily Routines
Gradually decrease supports/cues
Sabotage
Wait Time
Adapt the Environment

10. Modeling
Def: The child’s communication partner uses the child’s communication system to model use (while also providing appropriate verbal model)
Why use: Facilitates receptive language comprehension, increase ability to use device communicatively, + increase use of correct syntax
What you need: Consider vocab you want to model + where it’s located in device.

11. Communication Expectations within Daily Routines
Def: Various opportunities for communication are built into child’s daily routine
Why: Become familiar with expectations of communicating by developing a natural and consistent routine that places demand for communication on him/her
What need: Many ppl across different environments

12. Gradually decrease supports/cues
Def: Initially might require both verbal and visual cue. As become more familiar with pictures and vocab, as well as expectation for communication, can decrease cues
Why: Need to give them support to be successful, while never giving more cues than they need. Goal is always to be an independent communicator
What need: Understanding of cues (max, mod, min) or prompting hierarchy

13. Sabotage
Def: Sabotage what child is doing to give reason to communicate
Why: provides child with reason to communicate. Can also be used to expand functions of communication.
What: Consider activity to use with partner. Think of what they need to enjoy activity (opening a box, all pieces to a game). Then consider how you can sabotage by withholding key items your child will need.

14. Wait Time
Def: To give child opportunity to communicate. Wait 10 sec. before providing a cue. If motor issues (eye gaze), may need even longer.
Why: Speaking person may move too fast to allow communicator time to interject with system. Research shows significantly more initiations made with wait time.
What: Patience (hard)

15. Adapt the Environment Adapt the Environment
Def: Put items in site but out of reach
Why: Give a reason to communicate
What need: Preferred item. Put it in place where they can see it but not retrieve by self. Will need to draw attention to item and ensure system available to request

16. AVOID
Don’t expect user to know how to communicate without direct models and instruction
Don’t demand prerequisite skills
Don’t overprompt or prompt too quickly
Don’t ask the person questions you already know the answer to
Don’t teach ONLY requesting or provide ONLY nouns
Don’t focus on vocab that won’t be relevant tomorrow
Don’t remove AAC system or move symbols around
Don’t stop all “babbling” (exploring of buttons)
Don’t expect sentences right away or think you only have to model grammatically correct sentences

17. Strategies Used by People with Aphasia
Multimodal Communication
Engagement strategies
Repair strategies
Ask for repetition
Signal speaker to slow down
Use “placeholders” when trying to retrieve word
Indicate to speaker to write message
Use circumlocution
Use reiterative utterances to express meaning
Alert unfamiliar listeners regarding aphasia
Verify listener’s understanding

18. Ways Communication Partners can Support Comprehension
Speak in natural, calm, slow voice, providing time to respond and using simple sentences
Discover best way to question
Present one idea at a time
Emphasize key words
Use redundant info
Rephrase or simplify what you said when person does not understand
Alert person to a new topic
Keep paper and marker/pen handy at all times
Provide permanent referents if possible

19. Ways Communication Partners can Support Comprehension Cont.
Supplement your speech with other modes
Provide written word choices
Use large print and plenty of blank space
Pay attention to persons body and facial expressions
Verify your understanding to person
Use natural encouragement to keep convo going
Direct person to a different strategy when needed
Acknowledge competence
Use humor
Project “listening attitude”

20. AVOID Teaching or evaluative comments (“Good talking”, “Say my name…”)
Patronizing tone of voice or comments
Increased vocal loudness

21. Beukelman, D. , & Mirenda P. (2005)
Beukelman, D., & Mirenda P. (2005). Augmentative and alternative communication: Supporting children and adults with complex communication needs (4th ed.). Baltimore, Maryland: Paul H Brookes.
Simmons-Mackie, N., King, J., Beukelman, D., (2013). Supporting communication for adults with acute and chronic aphasia. Baltimore, Maryland: Brookes Publishing.
Additional content share with permission from Childrens CO AAC Team