Image 8: We have generated interpersonal scenarios based on experiences we have had or seen in our roles as school-based SLPs. Here is an example of one that students discuss in their small group followed by a discussion with the whole group.
team member's contributions, fostering a sense of ownership and accountability. To facilitate this, we created interpersonal scenarios that we have seen or encountered ourselves within our roles as school- based AAC SLPs. By exploring various scenarios, we show our EA students potential challenges they may encounter and help develop appropriate strategies for addressing them. For example, we might role-play situations where team members have differing opinions on communication strategies and we discuss how to navigate these conflicts constructively. Through these discussions, we not only clarify each person's role but also strengthen our future EAs ability to work within their defined roles and develop an understanding that there are some decisions that they should not be making. For example, reinforcing that EAs cannot decide that a student does not need to use an AAC device. Our intent is to decrease the chance that EA’s will take actions that negatively impact the students we support. See image 8. PARTICIPATION AND INCLUSION We want our EA students to understand the importance of fostering a sense of belonging and contribution for our AAC communicators. When students feel that they are valued members of their community and that they can actively contribute, their confidence and willingness to communicate
flourishes. This sense of inclusion is essential for their emotional well-being and social development. To help our EA students understand this and to give them the means to foster inclusion, we have them engage in activities like planning vocabulary models for inclusion and practicing with task boxes that represent activities and events that could occur during a regular school day. The first activity for participation and inclusion - planning vocabulary models specifically tailored for inclusive classroom activities - has our EA students rotating through various scenarios taken directly from classrooms at both the elementary and high school levels. EA students are put into small groups and provided with a planning tool to fill in. They then go through several school subjects, such as math, cooking, arts and crafts, or coffee cart. They are tasked with observing the materials, watching videos of how such activities would look in a classroom/school setting, and then selecting appropriate targets to model so that AAC communicators are exposed to the vocabulary models they need in order to build success in those areas. Our EA students are encouraged to brainstorm across a variety of language functions, such as asking questions, making comments, giving directions, and parts of speech, such as verbs, nouns, pronouns, and prepositions. Again, we are building familiarity with how an AAC system is organized while ensuring that our future support workers understand that they need to
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