Try This: A PrAACtical Idea for Aided Language Input

At the ATIA 2014 conference in January, it was exciting to hear about the updates on how core vocabulary is being addressed in the alternate assessment project for Dynamic Learning Maps.  Allison Dennis, Dr. Karen Erickson, and Dr. Penny Hatch, of the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies, shared a lot of interesting information, as you can see from their handout.

One of my favorite ‘take-aways,’ though, was a suggestion by Karen Erickson regarding the importance of aided language input for students with significant disabilities. We’ve written about aided language input so often that you may be tired of hearing it, but bear with us because her suggestion was pure genius.

Ready?

Here it is: List aided language input as an accommodation in the IEP.

Why List Aided Language Input as an IEP Accommodation?

• It is a fundamental strategy for any beginning learner of AAC.
• It is rarely implemented well or fully.
• The students will need us to use that strategy for a long time.
• If it is in the IEP, all staff have to implement it.

We’ve already started to do this, and recommend to parents of beginning communicators. Do you have a strategy for getting good compliance with aided language input? If so, please let us know. We’d love to hear about it.