Practically Speaking

As a volume in the ""AAC"" series, this book aims to address the role of AAC in school settings and offer professionals models and strategies for improving outcomes for children who use AAC in the classroom. The book's goal is to guide SLPs in collaboration with teachers and other service personnel to ensure effective language intervention and academic success.This book is intended for pre-service and in-service professionals serving students with AAC needs in school settings, with a focus on achievement in core language and literacy competencies required for academic and social contexts. It will address the challenges faced by practitioners targeting both AAC skills and curricular content. The book will include guidelines, strategies and tools necessary to address student needs, demands of the curriculum, nature of social contexts, and required technology supports within a complex school environment.Readers will be able to: use the general education curriculum as a context for goal setting; understand and address the language and communication demands of the curriculum; develop and implement a plan for ongoing, comprehensive language assessment that supports the curriculum; identify benchmarks for alternative assessment and utilize them to develop goals and intervention programs; develop appropriate language, communication, and literacy goals; develop a plan for the management of AAC technology; facilitate teams that function to support student achievement; use strategies for supporting students' ability to develop and maintain meaningful social relationships; modify classroom activities to ensure student participation and achievement; formulate strategies for measuring progress and assigning grades; and build a supportive classroom community.