with don’t feel comfortable doing it, so I do them. But there are only like 5-10 a year.” - SLP, Hybrid Charter • “I feel my workplace could benefit from some differ- ent AAC assessment and screening practices in order to streamline the process and have students using devices faster. If there were trained and dedicated SLPs for AAC I think students could be better supported” • “We have a train the trainer model and it works well. Our biggest issue is turn over and needing to train new staff. The communication partner is always the biggest asset/ detriment to the success of an AAC system.” • “I feel like I know what the research says to do, what ex- perts say to do, and in general what are the best practices for AAC, but I often feel like a complete failure, because I get very little buy in from parents and teacher When SLPs were polled from our district, 74% of the SLPs felt moderately confident within AAC as a whole. AAC assessments, treatment, and screenings appears to instill more confidence when there is a dedicated AAC consultant for the district Further feedback from SLP’s in our district using the AAC consult- ing method: o “No. The district does not allow nearly enough time to plan meaningful therapy sessions for AAC users. These students are heavy on my workload and my student count does not reflect this.” o “Yes, I have been learning more and more on how to con- duct AAC treatment sessions. I have been provided sup- port when needed on how to add pages and icons, how to change the vocabulary level, how to make the vocabu- lary more robust and personalized.” o “I feel very supported when conducting AAC sessions. Other providers often observe my therapy for examples in how to do a AAC treatment. If I have questions on a specific case I know I can ask my AAC consultant for ideas.” o “I love my AAC consultant!!!! Big help. I've learned so much from them and my reports have improved a lot.” o “I have consistently found our AAC consultants to be pro- fessional, accessible, friendly, and realistic about what is likely to help our students access the curriculum. I feel confident that our consultants are there for me and the students I work with when we need them.” o “The AAC team does a wonderful job in advocating for students that need AAC to communicate effectively. Fur- thermore, the team educates the parents, teachers and SLPs about AAC and its potential scope to improve stu- dents' communication.”
However, when our district SLPs were surveyed in the area of AAC Training, data found that approximately 50% of therapists who participated felt like a novice/beginner. This was a notice- able contrast to a majority of the data which reflected that the AAC Consulting method was building significant confidence within the SLP in all other areas polled. In order to help better support the SLP. New strategies were put in place. AAC Training Support Strategies: • Monthly themed office hours. A survey is sent out to the SLP at the beginning of the year to know what specific topics should be targeted. • The AAC District Support Website. This is a public website available to anyone. It includes items such as manuals and training resources for multiple apps, modeling infor- mation and therapy activity ideas/resources. • App specific training slides to use during AAC team train- ing. This area frequently updated. • More one on one training with the SLP prior to them training their team. Image 12 - Overall survey pie chart addressing level of expertise with AAC outside of school district.
Image 13 - Image of targeted goals to improve AAC support.
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