Robin Hurd

AAC and Multiple Intelligences

I recently had two different times where I heard of children who were not responding well to the AAC interventions planned for them by a professional evaluation, and it made me wonder, “Why do some children do so well with their AAC systems, and other children seem to really not care if they use it at all?”

As I pondered this, I began to wonder if it is not due in part to a lack of considering the learning style of the child when selecting the system to use and how to teach it.

For example, one of the situations in which a child just wasn’t thriving was a 5 year old, with whom a great many different types of symbol sets had been tried, as well as sign language, but nothing seemed to ease his frustration at being unable to tell others what he wanted. This child had been given miniatures, photos of actual objects, and cards with drawings of objects on them. Why wasn’t any of it working? The fact that the child is frustrated shows that he has untapped potential for communication, so I don’t believe that it had to do with the child’s lack of ability. What if this child is an auditory learner? None of the interventions tried so far involved sound! If indeed this child learns best through what he hears, his greatest strength is not being tapped by any of the systems tried so far because none of the systems include voice output!

Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences have been used for years to help learners who may struggle with typical classroom activities. Maybe it’s about time we consider multiple intelligences when working with children who use AAC systems, as well. Howard Gardner proposes that each person has a special way of processing the world around him. He feels that this is a product of the way a person’s brain is set up, and so calls it an “intelligence”, instead of a “learning style”. Here is a quick run down of Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences and how knowing about multiple intelligences might help us to understand how our children can learn best.

Visual/spatial Learners are capable of visualizing an object and creating mental images. They learn by seeing and they have a strong sense of color. They can recognize relationships between objects and a symbol of that object. Visual learners may have difficulties with spoken instructions, but are helped by charts, graphs and other visual aids. For AAC users who are visual learners, the graphic representations, or symbols, used are the key to their success with any AAC system. In addition, visual learners can benefit from a chart or other visual aid when learning new vocabulary on their AAC system.

Verbal/linguistic Learners relate well to words and language. They learn by listening, reading and writing. These learners don’t respond as well to graphics as they do to sound and language. Another name for this group of learners is auditory learners, which probably fits better for non-verbal learners. These are the children who may not seem responsive to the “quiet” methods of AAC -- miniatures, photo cards or picture exchange systems -- because all of these methods leave out a key component of their learning style: sound. Another key for auditory learners is time to play with language -- to explore the sounds of words on their AAC systems. Although visual prompting graphics may distract this child, he or she probably does well with verbal instructions when finding new vocabulary on the AAC system.

Logical/Mathematical Learners deal well with numbers and relationships. They have the ability to recognize patterns, to work with geometric shapes and to make connections between pieces of information. These students learn best in a logical ordered way. AAC users who are logical/mathematical learners will be quick to recognize motor patterns on their communication systems. Choosing a system that makes the most of this ability and teaching the child how to use the system in a logical, systematical way will allow this type of learner to reach his full potential. Logical learners want to ask questions and find out why. Intervention with a logical/mathematical learner should include question forms as soon as possible, to give this student the ability to verbalize her inner urge to know.

Bodily / kinesthetic Learners learn by using their whole body. These students are the ones whose first response is to use gestures to get their point across, and they are quite good at using their body language to communicate, in spite of any physical disabilities they may have. Kinesthetic learners are probably the ones who have the most difficulty with standard teaching strategies, and this goes with learning AAC as well. Kinesthetic learners will want to touch, feel and do. This desire can be used to best advantage to increase the child’s ability to be as independent as possible, as he learns to jump right in there and do things for himself!

Two things that will help this student as he is learning to use AAC are: 1) a realization on the part of staff and communication partners that this child, more than any other type of learner, will be multi-modal. Expect to see gestures, sign language, non-verbal facial expressions, anything that this learner is capable of to communicate with his body, and 2) a device which makes the most of his bodily learning abilities by providing the chance to make the most of motor planning skills.

Musical / Rhythmical Learners can recognize tonal patterns, rhythm and beat. They are sensitive to environmental sounds, the human voice and musical instruments. For this type of learners using AAC, as for auditory learners, voice output is a must, and the student may be very picky about the quality of the voice! (Musical/rhythmical learners may not want a digitized voice that sounds like Mom or the teacher!) The ability to sing with the device is also going to be a big plus for this child. This learner will probably pick up on the individual sounds that make up words more readily than most AAC users, and will enjoy using his voice output to explore the rhythm of language, as well as for communication. The environment around this learner will be an important focus, as she is sensitive to environmental sounds. Background music may help this child or may be extremely distracting. A Musical/Rhythmical learner will most likely enjoy computer software that incorporates music and rhythm with learning. Like the auditory learner, this child may want to explore the sound of words— enjoying saying nonsense words just to enjoy the rhythms of language. Allowing time for this type of exploration will help foster the skills needed to “sound out” words and learn to read silently.

Interpersonal Learners love interacting with others, and can relate to their feelings and beliefs. An AAC user who is an interpersonal learner will truly enjoy opportunities at conversational turn taking, but he may be less willing to engage in structured practice sessions to learn new vocabulary, or writing activities where he is not conversing with others. Having the chance to personally share her work with others later may help this type of learner to put effort into her writing or practice sessions. Sessions that act out an interaction, like going to the store, may also be more to her liking, because the practical outcome is readily visible: “I will be better able to interact with others if I practice this now.”

Intrapersonal Learners have a deep awareness of inner feelings, dreams and ideas. They have intuition, wisdom, confidence, strong will and self-motivation. Intrapersonal learners need time to think through what they have learned. These learners who use AAC are not going to be as motivated to speak in a group setting, or carry on small talk spur of the moment. Where they will shine is one-on-one as they work to express themselves better. Creative writing activities will most likely be a favorite for the intrapersonal learner; he can communicate his thoughts without the pressure of an interaction, and so help himself to make sense of the material in his mind. Because of this, the technology to write directly on the computer using his AAC system should be a top priority for an intrapersonal learner. An intrapersonal learner may be shy or have stage fright in groups, and may need to have added practice with social sharing times beforehand to become comfortable with what she wants to say. Intrapersonal learners will enjoy talking about feelings and dreams, so emphasis on words needed for this type of conversation may need to happen sooner than for other learning styles.

Naturalistic Learners have an ability to categorize things into groups. They are sensitive to what happens in nature and enjoy finding how things relate to each other. The naturalistic learner who uses AAC may be the child who insists that a certain word should be located in a different place on the AAC system. This child has analyzed the AAC system and discovered that this word simply does not fit in the category it has been assigned by whoever designed the system. (This can be tough to face, if you were the one who put the word there! J) Because of this special skill at categorizing things, a student who is a naturalistic learner will most likely be ready to take charge of programming the AAC system before either staff or parents are quite ready. Planning ahead to allow this student to take control of programming decisions with support will head off power struggles and provide a natural outlet for the ability to group things.

People may have more than one of these intelligences. Identifying the key ways a child is wired to learn can provide information that can help parents and professionals who work with that student to choose the AAC system, support and teaching strategies that will be best suited to the child. Having a good match-up between the child and the way he is being taught will encourage the best possible outcomes, and the least amount of frustration for all involved.

As always, your comments and questions help keep this column interesting! E-mail me at parents@aacinsititute.org .