AAC Learning Center

Educational resources for AAC

Online Resources for Beukelman & Light (2020)

The following free online instructional resources are available to support selected chapters in Beukelman & Light (2020)

1) Augmentative and Alternative Communication Processes for Children and Adults with Complex Communication Needs

• Dana Nieder, the parent of a child who relies on AAC, describes challenges and supports to AAC intervention for her daughter, Maya, in The impact of early access to AAC.

child with AAC device

2) AAC Assessment

3) Overview of AAC Intervention

AAC for Children – An Introduction , an online module by David McNaughton & Janice Light (2019), introduces key principles for successful AAC intervention

Girl with chick

4) Collaborating with Family Members and Other Communication Partners

Family-Centered Skills: Active Listening for SLPs, is an interactive online module (Mandak, Light, McNaughton, 2019) that introduces and provides practice opportunities in the use of important family-centered skills.

5) Vocabulary Selection and Message Management

Michael Williams (2006) describes his multimodal approach to communication, and changes in his use of AAC over time, in How far we’ve come, how far we’ve got to go: Tales from the trenches

Michael Williams

6) Representation Organization and Layout of AAC Systems

7) Access Techniques and Output

8) Selection and Personalization of AAC Systems

9) Key Considerations in AAC Intervention for People with Developmental Disabilities

10 ) Intervention to support Communication and Participation of Beginning Communicators

Developing AAC Systems for Children is an online interactive module featuring videos and case narratives illustrating the development of AAC systems

child with teacher

11) Intervention to Build Communicative Competence

12) Literacy Intervention for Individuals with Complex Communication Needs

13) Intervention to Enhance Participation in Education, Employment, and Community Settings

Beth-Anne Luciani (2006) describes her use of AAC as she pursues a degree in journalism in AAC and College Life: Just Do It!

Beth Anne Luciana

14) Individuals with Acquired Physical Conditions

15) AAC Supports for Adults with Severe Aphasia and/or Apraxia of Speech

16) Adults with Progressive Physical, Cognitive, and/or Linguistic Conditions

17) Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury

18) Patient-Provider Communication in Medical Settings

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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