About This Week
Welcome to Week 4 of your Stepping into AAC journey! This week, we delve into various concepts that will help you and your AAC learner make AAC use part of daily life.
We will explore the following concepts this week:
- Presume Potential: Learn about the mindset of presuming potential and how to leverage it to create spaces, tools, and opportunities for AAC learners to thrive.
- Motivate to Communicate: Explore the impact of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and ways to maximize their impact on AAC learning.
- Attribute Meaning: Consider how we can validate and support AAC learners by attributing meaning to their communicative attempts, even when we aren’t quite sure what they are trying to tell us.
- Say What You See & Show What You Say: Embrace two strategies that will boost AAC use without pressuring our AAC learners to imitate or comply.
- Know What Progress in AAC Looks Like: Learn what to look for in your AAC learner to see if things are moving in a positive direction.
AACtion Steps
Week 4 AACtion Steps
Signposts
Presume Potential
The concept of presuming potential in AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) learners emphasizes the importance of creating spaces, tools, and opportunities for AAC learners to thrive. The mindset of presuming potential influences language, actions, and practices, and focuses on growth and achievement.
Motivate to Communicate
Motivation plays a crucial role in our decision-making process, influencing various aspects of our lives. There are two types of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation comes from external factors, while intrinsic motivation arises from within. Both types can coexist and vary depending on the person and context. It is important to use extrinsic motivators thoughtfully and focus on creating intrinsically motivating interactions. Novelty and structure also contribute to intrinsic motivation. Understanding an AAC learner’s motivators is essential for meaningful communication and interactions.
Attribute Meaning
The video discusses the concept of attributing meaning in AAC and its importance in supporting AAC learners. It emphasizes the role of acknowledging and responding to the AAC user’s expressions, exploring and validating their communication attempts, and building a sense of identity as effective communicators.
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Say What You See & Show What You Say
A Say What You See strategy maps language to non-verbal communication to show AAC learners what they are expressing. Using AAC to acknowledge and validate their actions by “showing what you say” opens opportunities for language modeling and connection.
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Know What Progress in AAC Looks Like
This video discusses the journey of AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) learning, highlighting the importance of noticing small shifts that indicate progress. It emphasizes the need for increased interest, normalization of AAC, and independent exploration. The role of communication partners and the lifelong nature of AAC learning are also emphasized.
Travelog
Week 4 Travelog
Print the Week
Want all of the resources shared in this week’s Stepping into AAC? You can download the entire digital bundle by clicking the download button below.
