Speech-language pathologists, teachers, behavior analysts, and related professionals that provide support to emergent communicators have likely been exposed to a range of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) practices. They may also be familiar with contemporary clinical trends away from prescriptive “one size fits all” recommendations and toward individualized interventions, also referred to as precision interventions or personalized interventions. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the limitations of available assessment tools and propose functional assessment as a strength-based practice to move us toward tailoring AAC practices to meet the unique needs of each individual. A short workshop is included to teach attendees how to implement functional assessment methods and interpret results to guide their AAC decisions.
Learning outcomes:
- attendees will identify and describe current assessment practices in AAC
- attendees will describe the limitations of current AAC assessment practices to guide individualized AAC recommendations
- attendees will implement a minimum of two functional assessment methods and describe how to use results to individualize AAC
Credits: Act 48, EITA/Infant-Toddler, Occupational Therapy, Social Work, BACB, ASHA, PSYCH
Per The Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN), all presentation content, including videos and text, are the property of the presenter or agencies that employ the presenter. No copies may be made of the presentation or any of its parts without the express written permission of the presenter or agencies that employ the presenter.
