Joey’s AAC device is back! It’s wonderful to be able to hear his ideas and thoughts again. When we were reading Click, Clack, Surprise, he used it to tell me that the messy little duck needed a mirror.
He’s used his words to say “Don’t read” so he could get himself together, and then once he was ready he said “Begin.”
In the midst of a book he said “Wish Grandpa”. I asked “Where is Grandpa?” and he responded, “Couch” before looking at the couch, turning back to his device and saying “none” since there was no grandpa on the couch. [Read more…]
Early this fall we recognized that as Joey’s communication was increasing, his types of communication were increasing as well. We began taking data on how often he made demands, made social overtures, shared observations about his world.
I was recently able to attend the Council for Exceptional Children’s National Conference in Indiana. I love being able to hear about current research, connect with educators, and learn new strategies and techniques. This year I was thrilled to see a session titled “Instructional Decision Making: Students Who Use AAC: What Do the Experts Say?” Perfect! I thought. I’ll learn what the research says and come away with some specific, concrete ideas to apply to my work with Joey.
Let me introduce you to your new favorite book for reading with a child using an AAC device. 
Joey had such a communicative fall. He made statements and jokes he’d never made before, and truly dove into the new vocabulary words added to his device. We saw so much of him come shining through with how he was accessing his device. In October he averaged 
