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mike_cole@useyourwordsspeech.com
4/12/2019 2:56 AM
When assisting with AAC implementation with family and school teams, opinions can develop quickly.
1. "He likes/doesn't like the device."
2. "This device is too hard for her."
3. "She is using it well."
4. "He isn't using it."
I call these the, "I feel..." type statements, representing how people feel the user is or is not doing with the communication tool. The issue with these statements is that these are opinion based responses without a lot of evidence to back them up. Additionally, opinions differ with different perspectives. One person may determine the child is using the communication tool a lot and the another person may say they are not using it at all. Here is where things can go downhill pretty quickly.
My aim during collaboration is to provide a solid data driven approach to decision making. "I feel..." types of statements tend to be more of a result of how the adult feels about the communication device rather than how the child using it actually feels. I try to take the, "I feel..." types of comments out and move individuals more toward numbers and levels.
To do this, I encourage and train parents and teams on collection of language samples and prompting levels on the communication tool. Then we have more concrete information to work from and make decisions. This turns the above statements into something more like...
1. He learned two new words on his communication tool and now uses those at an independent level.
2. She uses the communication book during snack and at home with her toys.
3. She can navigate pages in her communication device to get to the word.
4. His level of prompting needed for the word, "go," decreased from point prompting to indirect cuing.
5. He can navigate this part of his communication device effectively, but cannot navigate to words in another section of his communication device. We may need to look at the organizational method.
6. We always have to prompt hand over hand for every trial to access the communication tool. Maybe we should look at another method of access or see what can be done to make it more accessible.
From these types of statements, better decisions can be made about whether something is working for the child or not. Better goals can be created and tracked from this information as well.
Moving from, "I feel..." types of statements into solid data provides a more shared perspective to move the process forward.
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3 replies
Excellent and very realistic share. This is what it may be like out there in the trenches. Thank you!
Karen Natoci - 4/19/2019
Do you have a specific form that you provide to teams to collect the data eg language sample etc?
Meganb - 5/31/2019
Hi Megan, if you send me an e-mail, I'll send you a copy of something I use. mike_cole@useyourwordsspeech.com
mike_cole@useyourwordsspeech.com - 6/11/2019
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The only way I know that he wants something is because he fusses or whines when he's unhappy or uncomfortable, and he smiles, makes noises or calms down when he's happy and comfortable. Does this statement describe your child?
She doesn't come to me to let me know what she wants, but it's easy for me to figure out, because she tries to do things for herself. She knows what she wants, and her behavior shows me what she wants. If she runs out of something to eat, she will just try to get more, rather than trying to get me to give her more.
Does this statement describe your child?
He knows how to get me to do something for him. He uses some of the kinds of behaviors below to communicate:
Does this statement describe your child?
Each question you will see is related to a certain message that your child might be able to express using a variety of behaviors. Read the question and decide whether your child is able to express the message described using any of the listed behaviors. If the answer is YES, then you must also decide whether your child has mastered the use of each behavior or whether it is still at an emerging stage. Check either the mastered or emerging box next to any behaviors your child uses to express the message. Use the following definitions to decide whether a behavior is mastered or emerging
– Does this independently most of the time when the opportunity arises
– Does this in a number of di erent contexts, and with di erent people
– Does this inconsistently
–
Only does this when prompted or encouraged to do so. Only does this in one or two contexts or with one person.
Each question you will see is related to a certain message that your child might be able to express using a variety of behaviors. Read the question and decide whether your child is able to express the message described using any of the listed behaviors. If the answer is YES, then you must also decide whether your child has mastered the use of each behavior or whether it is still at an emerging stage. Check either the mastered or emerging box next to any behaviors your child uses to express the message. Use the following definitions to decide whether a behavior is mastered or emerging
Thank you! Glad you found it helpful!
mike_cole@useyourwordsspeech.com - 4/26/2019