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Children and adults with developmental delays have benefited from the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems to develop language skills necessary for more generative and functional communication. Beginning communicators however, have historically been considered too young or too pre-linguistic and therefore have not been introduced to AAC systems until behaviors, thought to be prerequisites, have been noted. Recent research and theories about early communication development have challenged this traditional practice and broadened the scope of what is considered to be AAC. Practitioners and parents unfamiliar with early AAC options may not recognize possible applications of communication strategies used with typically developing children and older persons with developmental disabilities. AAC is applicable at all ages for learning communication roles and behaviors as well as for functional communication for persons who do not yet demonstrate clear referential symbol use. This article addresses nine questions that are frequently asked about early introduction of AAC systems to children under 3 years of age. Rationales and strategies are provided that can assist early interventionists and parents in considering AAC options for children at risk for being unintelligible or non-speaking.

"This collection of visual supports and other resources provides examples of various strategies that  can be used to support students on the autism spectrum, as well as others with and without disabilities.  Some of these visuals have also been used as part of a school's Response to Intervention (RTI) or as part of School-wide Positive Behavior Supports (PBIS).  Many of the visuals can also be used with families to assist their son/daughter at home. Others may benefit adults on the spectrum, as well. "

The AssistiveWare Core Word Classroom is a large collection of learning resources which are designed to support implementation of any AAC system that is based on core words. They emphasize the use of AAC best practices such as modeling, communicating everywhere, and communicating for a wide range of reasons beyond requesting. You can find out more about the Core Word classroom here [http://www.assistiveware.com/assistiveware-core-word-classroom-now-open ] . The Core Word Classroom is a beta release. They will be improving it and adding more resources based on feedback. The focus in this initial release is on schools, but the materials can easily be adapted to home use and use with adults who are learning AAC. During this beta release the materials are available free!

In this blog post by a famous AAC clinician named Gail Van Tatenhove she tells the story of Velma, an employee at an adult facility who witnessed Gail talking with an AAC user by modeling on the device. Velma was inspired to become "America's Next Top Modeler" with Gail acting as her coach. In the article, Gail outlines some initial scripts she gave to Velma to use when chatting with the AAC user. These scripts were necessary because Velma couldn't be expected to know where every word was she might ever need to say. The scripts took the pressure off! Velma only needed to find these few words. Guess what happened? In time, Velma learned where all of these words were so she didn't need to use the scripts at all.

So this year the speech path in our building went to a conference about the core vocabulary board. Before being introduced to this we were solely trying to use the PECs (Picture Exchange Communication System) and with only myself and an aid in the room regularly it was challenging to initially teach the students how to use it. So after she attended this conference she said this may be a great supplement to PECs and may be easier to use with just two adults regularly in the room. 

Aided language modeling: adult models how to use the individual's communication board/AAC system by actually pointing to/selecting symbols to represent words being read from the text Learning how to use aided language modeling during reading activities using strategies; either of the strategies could be used although in the research the RAA strategy was used primarily to model and elicit single symbol responses whereas RAAP strategy was used primarily to model and elicit multi-symbol response. You can use either of these strategies but prompts may be needed for some children. * RAA: using the read-ask-answer strategy to elicit single symbol responses on the AAC system * RAAP: using the read-ask-answer-prompt strategy to elicit single symbol or multisymbol responses on the AAC system

Multiple Initelligences for Adult Literacy and Education

The enhanced e-book was less effective than the print and basic e-book in supporting the benefits of co-reading because it prompted more non-content related interactions. When adults prompt children with questions pertaining to the text, label objects, and encourage them to discuss the book contents in terms of their own experiences and curiosities, this elicits increased verbalization by the child and can lead to improved vocabulary and overall language development.

High Interest Online Curriculuim for Teens, Transition Students, and Young Adults

This collection of visual supports and other resources provides examples of various strategies that can be used to support students on the autism spectrum, as well as others with and without disabilities. Some of these visuals have also been used as part of a school's Response to Intervention (RTI) or as part of School-wide Positive Behavior Supports (PBIS). Many of the visuals can also be used with families to assist their son/daughter at home. Others may benefit adults on the spectrum, as well.

Visual supports from the Indiana Resource Center for Autism

Video recaps for young adult and classic literature titles. Very engaging, yet concise. Videos also include discussions of characters, plot, and literary devices and elements.

Great place to publish and read short stories for children, teens and adults.

a statewide program designed to provide technical assistance, training, distance education, and networking information to families, teachers, and service providers of individuals birth through 21 who have both a hearing loss and a vision loss."

PACER provides information, support, workshops, and referrals to both families and professionals. PACER provides puppet programs on disability awareness, abuse prevention, and bullying prevention. PACER's Simon Technology Center provides software, adaptive devices and training to help children and young adults with disabilities learn to communicate through technology. PACER provides programs for Native American, African American, Hispanic/Latino, Somali and Southeast Asian communities. Many of our publications have been translated into Hmong, Somali and Spanish. PACER's Family-to-Family Health Information Center provides a single source of information, including resources and support, for families whose children have disabilities and complex health care needs. Through the Technical Assistance ALLIANCE for Parent Centers, PACER offers consultation and technical assistance to the over 100 parent centers across the nation funded under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Its work affects the 7 million children with disabilities across the nation. Other programs focus on employment, grandparents, housing and bullying prevention.