AAC in Preschool

This is a curated collection of information and resources related to supporting augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) in children ages three to five years. We encourage you to explore and judge for yourself which to add to your toolbox.

These resources are for educational purposes. This is not an exhaustive list. Inclusion does not signify endorsement. Use of any information provided on this website is at your own risk, for which NWACS shall not be held liable.

Do you have a favorite resource or strategy that we missed? Send us an email to share!

 

What does supporting communication development look like at this age?

FUN! It looks like having fun! 

The work of children is play. Play is not frivolous. Play is brain building. Play is powerful! Children learn best through play and exploration. So many skills can be learned and developed through play - including communication!

Child-led and play-based! It looks like following the child’s lead.

When working with young children, we follow their ideas and interests. We build upon and within what they are doing and are focused on. We adapt to their preferred items, activities, and interests. We can talk about what they are doing. We can model language within whatever they are drawn to. We can target core words during play.

We can

  • comment

  • describe

  • ask and answer questions

  • share opinions

  • refuse, reject, disagree

  • make a plan

  • negotiate

  • take conversation turns

 
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“Scientists have recently determined that it takes approximately 400 repetitions to create a new synapse in the brain – unless it is done with play, in which case, it takes between 10 and 20 repetitions!”
— Dr. Karyn Purvis
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And more! Most importantly, we can play with them and reinforce connections that are happening. We can show them the joy of connecting and communicating with another person!

Emergent literacy! It looks like supporting emergent literacy skills. 

Language and literacy develop in tandem - language development supports literacy development, and literacy development supports language development. So supporting communication development looks like lots of shared reading. It looks like developing concepts of print. It looks like playing with sounds, letters, and words. It looks like developing letter-sound correspondence. It looks like shared writing. And it still looks fun!

We want young children interested in people and motivated to interact. We want them willing to take the risk and make the effort to engage and communicate.

Key Goals

  • support language and communication development

    • continue using language development as a guide

      • vocabulary development

        • verbs (action words)

        • describing words

        • pronouns/people’s names

        • “power words” / words to self-advocate

      • morphological development

      • grammar development

      • moving from words to sentences to short narratives

      • answering questions

  • social connection and engagement

  • communication partner training and education

  • early literacy development

    • listening comprehension

    • alphabet knowledge

    • phonological/phonemic awareness

    • print knowledge/concepts of print

    • emergent writing

Typical language development in the Preschool Years

AAC goals are driven by our knowledge of typical language development. Some key considerations in the preschool years include:

- expanding vocabulary (receptive & expressive)

- acquisition of grammatical structures

- increasing complexity of sentences

- ability to discuss feelings / emotions

- ability to produce narratives

- emergence of new pragmatic functions

- development of early literacy skills

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“AAC represents a developmental pathway to communication and language competence. ”
— Dr. Stephen von Tetzchner

What AAC Looks Like

  • environmental supports for communication

  • able to grow with the child

  • matches access and other features needed by the child

Helpful Implementation Strategies

  • communication partner training and support

  • embed AAC in daily routines (motivating, repetitive, predictable)

  • partner-assisted/co-constructing messages

  • expectant pause

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“HOW I expressively communicate may be different, but not WHAT I needed to develop linguistically in order to communicate. ”
— Faye Warren, AAC Communicator
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Resources to Explore

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Articles, Books, and Documents


Learning Modules

  • AAC Learning Center Moodle resources for learning about augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) by the RERC on AAC and the AAC program at Penn State University

Websites

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Podcast and Webinar Recordings


Other Resources

Road Maps (Patricia Dowden, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, University of Washington; shared with permission at 2017 WSLHA Spring Workshop)

Useful Tips

  • Families/caregivers of and professionals working with young children need to be told about the option and benefits of AAC!

  • Families/caregivers of and multidisciplinary professionals working with young children need training and ongoing support!

  • Stay family-centered and child-centered!

    • pay attention to the pace that works best for the family

  • Focus on communicative intent, not how the message was communicated.

“The success (or failure) of the intervention will depend on the fit with the entire family system, not just the individual who requires AAC. The only way to ensure this contextual fit is to listen to families in order to understand their priorities and concerns. ”
— Beukelman & Light
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  • Learn about prompting hierarchies, different kinds of prompts/cues, and how to fade them.

Selected References:

  • Binger, Cathy & Light, Janice. (2007). The effect of aided AAC modeling on the expression of multi-symbol messages by preschoolers who use AAC. Augmentative and alternative communication (Baltimore, Md. : 1985). 23. 30-43. DOI: 10.1080/07434610600807470

  • Fallon, Karen & Light, Janice & Paige, Tara. (2001). Enhancing Vocabulary Selection for Preschoolers Who Require Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. 10. 10.1044/1058-0360(2001/010)

  • Lieberman-Betz, R. G., Brown, J. A., Wiegand, S. D., Vail, C. O., Fiss, A. L., & Laura J. Carpenter, L. J. (2023). Building Collaborative Capacity in Early Intervention Preservice Providers Through Interprofessional Education. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_LSHSS-22-00110

  • Neal, C. & Brady, N. (2022). Narrative Interventions for Children Who Use Augmentative and Alternative Communication: A Call and Plan for Future Research. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 7(6), 1619-1629. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_PERSP-22-00007

  • Pope, L., Light, J., & Franklin, A. (2022). Black Children With Developmental Disabilities Receive Less Augmentative and Alternative Communication Intervention Than Their White Peers: Preliminary Evidence of Racial Disparities From a Secondary Data Analysis. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_AJSLP-22-00079

  • Romski, M., Sevcik, R., Adamson, L., Cheslock, M., Smith, A., Barker, R. M., & Bakerman, R. (2010). Randomized Comparison of Augmented and Nonaugmented Language Interventions for Toddlers With Developmental Delays and Their Parents. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2009/08-0156)

  • Sun, T., Bowles, R. P., Gerde, H. K., & Douglas, S. N. (2022). Supporting AAC Use for Preschoolers With Complex Communication Needs. Young Exceptional Children, 25(2), 101–112. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096250620959664

  • Timpe, E., Kent-Walsh, J., Binger, C., Hahs-Vaughn, D., Harrington, N., & Schwartz, J. (2021). Using the ImPAACT Program with preschoolers with Down syndrome: A hybrid service delivery model. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 37, 113-128. 10.1080/07434618.2021.1921025