by Jo Ristow, MS, CCC-SLP (speech/language pathologist); NWACS blogger

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.

It’s November! Hopefully the initial rush and chaos of back-to-school is over, and kids (and school teams) are settling into the school year. That means it’s the perfect time to provide a little more information and support to general education teachers and peers about AAC. Kids tend to have questions about why some of their classmates communicate differently. Some AAC users might have the time and energy to make a presentation or an “about me” sheet to share with their classmates. Others may prefer to be less in the spotlight.

Here are some general resources for introducing AAC to different school aged groups. Note: Please know the author of this post does not endorse all of the views expressed in these books. There is still a large issue with ableist perspectives and tokenism in popular media. Continue to think critically about portrayals of disabled and/or neurodivergent people by non-disabled bodies and neurotypical brains.

Books for younger kids (preschool - early elementary)

Autistic main characters: