3 Tips for using AAC on Teletherapy
Telepractice has opened opportunities for high quality intervention to be provided to children no matter where they are located. One area of speech language pathology that can feel intimidating on teletherapy is providing AAC intervention. Below you will find 3 tips to help make AAC intervention on teletherapy engaging and meaningful.
- Share the AAC vocabulary on your screen to model during the session. Ask caregivers to take and share a photo of the main page of the device screen. Even if you cannot model the entire vocabulary sequence, modeling the first step is helpful. Depending on the vocabulary used, there are options to download the vocabulary to your computer to share during the session. Example: For PRC/Saltillo devices, PASS Software can be utilized for modeling during teletherapy sessions.
- Choose activities where there is no "right or wrong" answer to facilitate interactive communication and learning. For example, if working on colors, you could ask what color do you want instead of what color is this? If you are targeting animals, let the student choose what animal to add to the photo scene instead of asking what animal is this? If you are targeting body parts, ask the student to tell you which body part to put on Mr. Potato Head. This creates an error free learning environment where students learn the power of their words using the device. This can be motivation to communicate when they see their choices guide the activity. Examples of activities are linked below.
- Use highly motivating activities. Starting your session with a preferred activity is a great way to motivate students to communicate using their communication devices. If you repeat an activity over and over across sessions, change the vocabulary you are modeling and expand utterances. Leaning into highly motivating activities creates opportunities for spontaneous communication on an AAC device that is meaningful.
Resources:
- PASS Software Link: https://www.prentrom.com/prc_advantage/free-software-download-pass
- Boom Learning Activity Links:
- https://wow.boomlearning.com/play/qdJisywpixM7avvee/teacher
- https://wow.boomlearning.com/play/S5Ppiw5bEfJbccLGf/teacher
- https://wow.boomlearning.com/play/ywkqwKP6sp8Gtv2JJ/teacher
- https://wow.boomlearning.com/play/vJjyb8BcKaJKN5NYr/teacher
- https://wow.boomlearning.com/play/XYzsx9KEa8R8j9LhM/teacher