Maja P.M., Special Education Teacher

I am a teacher at a school that educates students with moderate, severe and multiple disabilities according to a special program. These  students have difficulties in communication, especially speaking and understanding of speech, and it is very important to use AAC.

I got my first information about AAC during my studies, and a few years ago, I participated in education as part of the UNICEF campaign on the application of AAC.

I use AAC during individual work with students using available applications to acquire language and mathematical knowledge. Sometimes I use different available programs to create social stories that I use in individual and group work. I often use low-tech resources to visually present certain material to students, as well as a narrative schedule so that students who cannot read can use it.

The advantage is certainly the large availability of free applications on the Internet, which we can make accessible to each individual student in such a way that the application can be adjusted to be exactly adapted to each student. The applications are very interesting for the students and they acquire academic skills in a simple way through the game. An important advantage is that AAC helps students in their understanding of the environment, but also in expressing their own emotions and needs.

Students understand and learn content that is presented to them in pictures much better, creating a visual schedule helps students with ASD because it gives them predictability and sequence of activities, thus reducing the possibility of undesirable behaviours.

I believe that teachers received extremely little information about AAC during their studies, but that they must have heard about AAC in various educations, but it is all on an informative level, and few use it in their work.

I think that all teachers should have several courses at the university that would give them basic knowledge about students with developmental disabilities, and how they function, and get practical advice on how to adapt teaching content to them (what methods and techniques to use in working with students with disabilities).

• ICT AAC applications
• ARASAAC
• Boardmaker
• Pictoselector
• E-Glas

Consistency is very important. When the AAC starts to be used, it is necessary to use it in all situations and places where the child stays, except at school. This means that we have to involve and teach the child’s parents how to use AAC too.