Robin Hurd

Peeking into the Crystal Ball:
Conversations with Adults Who Use AAC

For parents whose children use AAC, getting to talk with an adult who communicates with AAC, like their child does, can be a pivotal moment. One parent recently called it ”a glimpse in a crystal ball to the future and what communication could be.” For most of us, getting to talk with adults who use AAC is a rare moment, to be treasured up with our hopes and dreams for our children. We know that fluent communication is possible when we see adults who have never spoken communicating effectively using AAC. And we want that for our own children. But what is the path from beginning AAC communicator to fluent adult?

While I was at the ISAAC convention, I had a chance to talk with people who use a wide variety of AAC systems from various parts of the world, and I would like to share some of what I heard from them about what we as parents can do to help our children achieve their dream and ours: fluent communication with anyone and everyone they meet.

The first piece of advice I heard from everyone I spoke with was, “Make sure that you encourage your child to use the AAC system to communicate with you. You may understand their signs, gestures and words, but they need the practice using their AAC system at home in order to get good at it.” These adults who use AAC did not see a problem with delaying something until the child uses the AAC system to ask for it, even if we already understand their other methods of communicating. The point of this is to make sure that the children become so accustomed to using their devices to communicate that it becomes automatic. It’s easy for my sons to rely on signs, gestures, or their latest trick: a guessing game using the first pronounceable sound in a word with their family. However, the most effective communication, even with family, is almost always the AAC system. With others, the AAC system is the only effective communication. The more we expect our kids to practice using their AAC system to put together words, the easier it will be to do so.

The second comment I heard almost as often was the importance of allowing our children to be as independent as possible and make as many choices for themselves as they can. People with multiple disabilities can become reliant on their caregivers for everything, and when a care giver is not available, or not attentive to their needs, they may go unmet. Learning as much independence as possible will help our children to able to make sure they get their needs met in any circumstance they face.

In Singapore, where AAC is just beginning to be used, the speech professionals who are working with people who use AAC are concerned with an attitude of passivity among AAC users. These people have been given the technology to allow them to communicate their opinions, but are having trouble forming opinions, even when asked. So many years have been spent being passive within a culture that values passive roles for people with disabilities, that being asked for an opinion feels very strange and awkward. As speech professionals and adults who are new to communicating work through how to develop their own opinions and share them with others in Singapore, it reminds me again of the importance of practicing and providing chances to share opinions for our children. This can be a simple as going through a pile of familiar books and deciding if the child likes or doesn’t like them. The books can either be tagged with a sticker or given a special bookmark to sort them into groups. The un-liked books given to charity, or simply put away and a favorite story chosen to read. We can ask opinions about many things: books, music, cars, teachers, what color to paint the bedroom…. We also help our children form opinions when we model for them. “I really like that red and white car. It makes me smile when I see it!” Or, “My favorite dessert is apple pie. What is your favorite dessert?” The important thing is that we do this enough that our children understand how to form their own opinion and how to tell others about it.

As I “peek into the crystal ball” and visit with adults who use AAC, I am always rejuvenated by the future and what it holds for all of our children who use AAC. These adults have become fluent communicators—often despite not having the early exposure to AAC and the support our children have. Their advice is priceless to those of us who are guiding our children down the same path.

I always value your feedback. parents@aacinstitute.org