AAC and Aided Language Stimulation for future BCBAs

1. AAC and Aided Language
Stimulation
Kate Ahern, M.S.Ed.

2. Where do I get the slideshow?
http://kateahernesma.
wikispaces.com/home

3. What is AAC?

5. Why AAC?

6. Communication is more than mands.
AAC Field View of Communicative Functions
 Wants and needs
 Information transfer
 Social closeness
 Social etiquette
List is not hierarchical !
Verbal Operants
 Receptive
 Imitation
 Echoic
 Mands
 Tact
 Intraverbal
How can we bring these together?

7. Social Closeness: A missed communicative function
“Most of our AAC interventions
to date have tended to focus
on providing individuals with the
means to express needs and
wants, to the neglect of other
communication goals,
especially the goal of social
closeness.”
(Light, 1988, as cited in
Light, 1997 p. 63)

8. Core Vocabulary
 Core words make up 80% of everything we say
(somewhere between 250 – 300 words)
 This is true regardless of age – preschool to
seniors
 Core words come from all parts of speech –
pronouns, verbs, prepositions and adjectives top
the list
 Core words can be used regardless of topic,
environment or communication partner
 Fringe words are specific words relating to
certain topics, place or people
 Core words can be combined with other core
words or with fringe words and make sense
 Two fringe words rarely make sense for
communication

9. Suggested Core Words
 Many lists but they are usually very similar,
varying slightly in the order presented
 First words include I/me, you, my/mine,
what, help, like, am/is/are, go, want, stop,
on, in, out, it, some, here, more, that, all
done, not
 Expanded to add he, she, this, there,
when, who, up, down, yes/no
 More pronouns, verbs, adjectives,
adverbs, prepositions, nouns are added
after this

10. Nothing but nouns here…

11. We don’t use AAC for “work”… we use it
to communicate!
Do
 Respect activations of the device and
provide natural responses
 Use the system to model how to
communicate
 Use the system to communicate ABOUT
work (you ask the student to point to a
picture card of a horse then you use the
device to comment, “Good job you
found the horse” or you ask the student to
comment about his work)
Do NOT
 Use the system as a “find it” activity
 Use the system to assess the student on
tacts (use other materials)
 Use the same device for communication
and “work” (this might mean two iPads
are needed)
 Refer to the system as “work”
 Use the system as a reinforce
 Use ABA principles to encourage and
reward functional communication and
discourage other from using the system
inappropriately

12. Communication Bill of Rights
•Make real choices
•Refuse, reject, say
no
•Ask for what I want
•Share feelings
•Be heard and
responded to even if
the answer is no
•Ask for and get
attention and
interaction
•Have and use AAC
all the time
•Know and ask
about my schedule
•Be taught how
to communicate
•Be a full
member of my
community
•Be treated with
respect and
dignity
•To spoken to
and not about
•Be
communicated
with in a sensitive
manner

13. Aided Language Stimulation
Aided language stimulation (ALS) is a
communication strategy, where a
communication partner teaches symbol
meaning and models language by
combining his or her own verbal input
with selection of vocabulary on the
Augmentative and Alternative
Communication (AAC) system.

14. An Introduction to Aided Language Stimulation

15. “From the moment a baby is born, they
hear and respond to the spoken word.
We bombard that infant with language
for the first 12-18 months of their lives.
During that time, we do not expect that
they will utter a single understandable
word.”
http://atto.buffalo.edu/registered/ATBasics/Populations/aac/consider.
Why ALS?

18. Linda Burkhart
www.lburkhart.com

19. ALS: Not a New Concept
 Called by different names:
 Partner-Augmented Input (PAI)
 Natural Aided Language (NAL)
 Aided Language Input (ALI)
 Aided Language Stimulation
(ALgS or ALS)
Promoted by different people:
 Goossens’, Crain, & Elder (1992)
 Romski & Sevcik (1996)
 Cafiero (1998)
 Bruno and Trembath (2006)
 Mirenda (2009)

20. ALS is Best Practice
 ALS is best practice for all individuals learning to
use all types of augmentative communication
 ALS is research based with studies dating back
to 1988
 ALS teaches communication on a speech
device in the way that verbal children learn
language.
 ALS also teaches children how to think about
language.
 ALS can be easily combined with other
methodologies

21. ALS Procedure
Gain student’s attention
Use AAC to model core language as you
speak
Your speech and your modeling should
match the student’s receptive
communication skills
If you get stuck verbally work through
your reasoning as you look for language
on the device (model metalinguistics)

22. ALS Skills to Know
Use Non-Verbal Junctures
Non-verbal cue (facial expression,
body language) by the adult that
happens before language modeling
Serves to gain attention
Decreases verbal distraction
Sets the stage for what will happen
next

23. ALS Skills to Know
 Use light cues or a pointer
Use a flashlight or laser pointer to point to symbols
on paper (can be hard to see on devices)
Use a pointer or longer stylus on devices if a light
doesn’t work
Children with visual issues or developmentally
below 8 months may have trouble with looking at
what you are pointing to instead of your finger
Allows more physical space between you and
the learner which is good for developing
boundaries and projecting and image of
competence to typical peers

24. ALS Skills to Know
 Recasting
 Recasts serve to add or correct information without
obstructing the natural flow of communication.
 Recasting is another form of modeling.
 The adult modifies a learners utterance by adding new or
different grammar (syntactic) or word meaning information
(semantic) information.
 Child says “more”, adult models one step ahead, “want
more” or “I want more”

25. ALS Skills to Know
 Visual Supports
 Cheat Sheet
Road maps that show how to get to words
on the device
 “Smart Sticks”
Category symbols glued to sticks to be
shown to cue where to find certain words
 Reminder Bracelets
Category/word combinations to find
vocabulary mounted to a bracelet
 Be Creative with Visual Supports!
 They aren’t just for the AAC user!

27. Where do I get the slideshow?
http://kateahernesma.
wikispaces.com/home

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