AAC Learning Center

Educational resources for AAC

Designing AAC research and intervention to improve outcomes…(Light & McNaughton, 2015)

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Cover of AAC JournalLight, J., & McNaughton, D. (2015). Designing AAC research and intervention to improve outcomes for individuals with complex communication needs. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 31, 85-96.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/07434618.2015.1036458

Abstract

There is a rapidly growing body of research that demonstrates the positive effects of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) intervention on the communication of children and adults with complex communication needs. Despite the positive impact of many AAC interventions, however, many individuals with complex communication needs continue to experience serious challenges participating in educational, vocational, healthcare, and community environments. In this paper, we apply the framework proposed by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to illustrate the need to re-think AAC intervention to improve outcomes for individuals with complex communication needs, and to foster a new generation of intervention research that will provide a solid foundation for improved services. Specifically, the paper emphasizes the need to take a more holistic view of communication intervention and highlights the following key principles to guide AAC intervention and research: (a) build on the individual’s strengths and focus on the integration of skills to maximize communication, (b) focus on the individual’s participation in real-world contexts, (c) address psychosocial factors as well as skills, and (d) attend to extrinsic environmental factors as well as intrinsic factors related to the individual who requires AAC.

Public school students: Who can pay for SGDs?

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Lew Golinker, Esq.
Assistive Technology Law Center

Webcast Description

This presentation provides information on funding resources for public school students who require a speech generating device. Lew Golinker, a lawyer with the Assistive Technology Law Center, describes the  features of four major funding sources:

1) Public schools
2) Health benefit programs (e.g., medicaid, medicare)
3) Vocational Rehabilitation
4) Telecommunications Equipment Distribution Programs

Additional Resources

Handout with slides
• A 32 page handout, including both slides and text, for this presentation

Speech Generating Device Funding for Children
• In this reprint from the September 2009 issue of Exceptional Parent magazine, Lew Golinker (Attorney and AAC Funding Advocate) describes funding sources for AAC technology.

Medicare Funding of AAC Technology
• Web resources that describe eligibility information, assessment protocols, fee schedules and other important information regarding the use of medicare as a funding resource for AAC

Augmentative Communication News: Funding (December 2006) 
• This issue focuses on government funding for AAC devices around the world, and gives information about ten U.S. funding sources (pdf)

Transcript – txt format 

The contents of this website are a joint offering of Penn State University and the RERC on AAC. They were developed, in part, under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number 90REGE0014) to the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (RERC on AAC). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this website do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, or HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
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