Welcome back to Let's Talk AAC - a series of questions and topics for discussion. NWACS will occasionally post a question or topic with related information. Join in the conversation! Add your experiences, resources, related research, etc. in the comments so we can all learn and benefit from each other's knowledge and experience.

reading time: 5 minutes

by Cassandra Stafford, MS, CCC-SLP/L, ATP and Alicia Alverson, MS, CCC-SLP, ATP (speech/language pathologists and assistive technology professionals); NWACS board members

Today I…

• search for a yoga video on YouTube

• sent and received several emails

• wrote a to-do list

• consulted and updated my schedule

• updated and printed out a tracking sheet

• read a letter from my doctor’s office

• downloaded my bank statements

• paid some bills

• checked the date on a food package to see when it expires

• texted with a friend

• connected with family on social media

• read some instructions

• logged into Zoom meetings

• looked at a TV schedule to see when a show I want to watch is on

• searched for some information on the internet

• read a book for fun

and more! What do all these tasks have in common? Literacy skills were required for the successful completion of them all.

In 2024, we will be covering the Literacy Bill of Rights at NWACS. As we can see above, we use reading and writing in so many daily tasks. It unlocks endless language potential. It opens up the variety of what we can read and write. It also simultaneously fosters our language and communication development. There are eight rights in the Literacy Bill of Rights that we will cover this year. We will also hear from AAC users about their experiences:

• learning to read and write,

• accessing literacy, and

• using AAC.

If you use AAC and would like to share your experiences or know someone who would, we would love to hear from you! You can reach out to us at info@nwacs.info. 

We will start the year covering the Literacy Bill of Rights #1: The right to an opportunity to learn to read and write. 

The first right on the Literacy Bill of Rights is the right to learn to read and write. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines literacy:

“Literacy is a continuum of learning and proficiency in reading, writing and using numbers throughout life and is part of a larger set of skills, which include digital skills, media literacy, education for sustainable development and global citizenship as well as job-specific skills.” 

(retrieved from UNESCO on 1/1/24)

Today in the United States, literacy skills are an integral part of almost every facet of life. School-age through old age, if you cannot read and spell and use numbers, your life is significantly impacted. Your opportunities and autonomy greatly diminished. It is hard to live the life you want without literacy skills.

Literacy leads to empowerment. Literacy is liberating. Literacy is necessary as part of your right to education. Literacy connects you with others. Literacy connects you with the larger world. Literacy expands your abilities. More abilities lead to 

• reduced poverty, 

• improved work opportunities, and 

• positive effects on health. 

Literacy increases feelings of self-worth and self-confidence. Literacy opens doors and opportunities. Literacy is a life skill.

Literacy is a human right.

Literacy is the foundation of all learning. In school, academic learning shifts from learning to read to reading to learn around third grade. 70% of 4th graders, and 64% of 8th graders, with disabilities are reading below basic levels (NAEP based on 2022 data). Students identified as having either an IEP or 504 plan were included in this category. “Below basic” levels means their performance fell below the lowest performance level. This means they cannot read.

While the actual number is fluid, as of 2023 the English language is thought to have approximately 170,000 to 250,000 words.

Most native English-speaking adults have a vocabulary of 20,000 to 35,000 words.

AAC devices offering access to a wide vocabulary come preprogrammed with approximately 3,000 to under 11,000 words. 

To keep an AAC system practical for daily use and portability, it is not feasible to have every possible word that an AAC user might want or need to use throughout their life programmed into their AAC system. The only way an AAC user will be able to say ANYTHING they want is if they can spell.

That means they need literacy skills.

Disabled people with complex communication needs often have many areas of need. It is easy for other concerns to get prioritized over working on literacy skills. They will most likely need to be taught in different ways than their speaking peers. They will likely need different ways to demonstrate what they know and can do. All these things lead to a high chance that they will not have the opportunity - or effective instruction - to learn to read, write, and use numbers. 

We need a shift in mindset. We need to prioritize literacy skills as soon as and whenever possible. It can be easy to say that "functional communication skills" of communicating daily needs must be prioritized. And yes, these are incredibly important. But, literacy is ALSO a functional communication skill.

Several rights in the Communication Bill of Rights (NJC, 2016) further support everyone’s right to learn to read and write.

• the right to interact socially, maintain social closeness, and build relationships. In our digital world, we do this, at least in part, through:

  • social media,

  • email,

  • texting, and

  • other written communication

• the right to access interventions and supports that improve communication. This must include text-based communication (reading and writing).

• the right to access environmental contexts, interactions, and opportunities that promote participation as full communication partners with other people, including peers. The only way to be a full communication partner is to be able to read, write, and use numbers.

• the right to be treated with dignity and addressed with respect and courtesy. Believing and treating everyone as capable of learning is treating them with dignity and respect.

All means all. No one is too disabled. Or too old. Everyone, no matter how disabled they appear or their age, has the right to the opportunity to learn to read and write and use numbers. Everyone can learn and improve their literacy skills when taught and supported in effective ways.

EVERYONE must have the opportunity to learn to read and write. The time to start is now.

Do you have a favorite literacy resource? Comment below.

If you have an experience or story you'd like to share about AAC and literacy this year, we would love to hear it! You can reach out to us at info@nwacs.info.