All The Ways Sterling Communicates

By: Jo Ristow, SLP (speech-language pathologist)

Reading time: 1 min

Let’s dive into a quick overview of a book featuring AAC:

Book Title: All The Ways Sterling Communicates

Author: Courtney Peebles

Published in 2023

Age Range: 1 year+

Book Type: board book

How AAC is Featured: All the Ways Sterling Communicates is a short and sweet board book about a family’s first experience with augmentative/alternative communication. Written by the parent of the main character, it is a straightforward and sweet introduction to AAC.

All The Ways Sterling Communicates book cover

Sterling is almost two when he meets a speech therapist for the first time. She teaches him how to communicate in three ways – sign language, using an AAC device, and speaking! A year later, he is communicating more than ever and even helping his little brother learn to use AAC. There are many ways to communicate!

This book would be a quick and easy way to introduce a young child to the idea of speech therapy and multi-modal communication. It notes parent involvement too, and emphasizes that the device helped Sterling learn more spoken words. I could see it on the shelves of early inclusive classrooms or daycares. It could be used as a quick read-aloud to help peers understand that people communicate differently.

It’s wonderful to see an example of early intervention with AAC!

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

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Jo Ristow, MS, CCC-SLP

Preferred Pronouns: she/they

Jo is a speech language pathologist based out of Seattle and owner of Chat NW. She has 10 years of experience in the field with a specialty in AAC. She has worked and consulted across multiple settings including outpatient therapy, Autism Centers, schools and private practice. Her passion is supporting those who use AAC to connect with the people important to them, advocate for the things that are important to them, and communicate in the environments that are important to them. She presumes potential, emphasizes multi-modal communication, and strives to provide neurodiversity-affirming, anti-ableist supports and education for AAC users and their caregivers. The work and joy of communication is meant to be shared! In her (rather scarce) free time, she can be found with her partner and two children, likely reading, hiking, rock collecting and/or learning.