by Molly Menzie, MS, CCC-SLP (speech/language pathologist); NWACS board member

reading time: 2 minutes

The views expressed in this post are that of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of NWACS. No endorsement by NWACS is implied regarding any device, manufacturer, resource, or strategy mentioned.

To start off with, let’s define some terms related to neurodiversity.

• Neurodiversity: the concept that people with neurological differences should be recognized and respected.

• Neurodivergent: describes a person whose brain is different from what is considered typical.

• Neurodiverse: describes a situation/population in which there is a mix of neurotypical brains and neurodivergent brains.

How does the concept of neurodiversity relate to AAC? Oftentimes, it is likely that a person who uses AAC may be neurodivergent. Some types of neurological differences that an AAC user may have, include:

• autism

• ADHD

• dyslexia, etc.

It is likely that a neurodivergent person, such as an autistic individual, may exhibit characteristics that make it difficult for them to communicate using spoken language all of the time or some of the time.

How can SLPs support and respect neurodivergent individuals who use AAC?

First off, your language matters. Most neurodivergent individuals show a preference for how they are “labeled”.

• Use identify-first labels rather than person-first labels

• Describe an individual as having high support needs & low support needs rather than being high-functioning & low-functioning

• Describe an individual as being non-speaking rather than non-verbal

• See this recent article about the language AAC users prefer, How to Talk About AAC and AAC Users (According to Them)

Implement strengths-based approaches during therapy.

• Focus on what the individual can do

• Find what is intrinsically motivating and interesting to the client. Build your therapy around this. This approach is different to having an individual “work for a reward." For example, if they love the alphabet, they could learn to spell to communicate.

• Utilize the individual's strengths to support their learning. Figure out what they are good at to help promote their learning.

• Embed levels of support into their goals.

• Understand and support the individual’s sensory needs. Use accommodations and embed sensory supports into your therapy activities.

• Support body and communication autonomy.

How to support autonomy during therapy.

• Allow the individual to communicate what they want, how they want, when they want, to whom they want, and where they want (Gayle Porter, SLP, Developed PODD).

• Model within naturalistic contexts rather than providing hand-over-hand assistance/prompting

• Provide unrestricted access to a robust language system with naturalistic aided language input

• Respect what the individual says and recognize that whether you understand it or not, it has value

• Provide verbal and aided language input feedback to show the individual that you are listening and trying to understand

How to learn more!

• Listen to neurodivergent voices and AAC users to help inform your practices.

• Check out blogs, YouTube, TED Talks, Instagram, etc. to gain insight and knowledge from neurodivergent voices and AAC users.

• Here are some resources to get you started:

  • Therapist Neurodiversity Collective

  • Blog — Rachel Dorsey: Autistic SLP, LLC

  • Talking With Tech

  • Demystifying Disability by Emily Ladau

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