AAC - The Difference it Makes

When Rosie’s son Noah received his first Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) device (Liberator Rugged 7 with LAMP Words for Life software) in early 2020, they were somewhat reluctant to embrace it.“It all seemed too hard, we didn’t understand how amazing it would be” Rosie said6 weeks after receiving the AAC device, Rosie and her husband commenced a 10-week program for parents, carers and educators that focused on those new to, or currently using, AACRosie says, “This program kept us accountable, each week I knew Jenna would ask how it's all going, what have we implemented since last week etc. and this forced us to use the device with Noah.  We were blown away by how quickly he picked it up, and it coincided (maybe not a coincidence!) with a huge burst in his speech over the few months as well.”Research has shown that without training, people don’t always demonstrate skills necessary to support communication for individuals who rely on AAC and that short term intervention focused on parent implantation of strategies learned in a clinical setting, and then carried over at home, showed an increase in AAC use.“We use it to communicate with his kinder teacher, who leaves a message for us each day to tell us something about Noah's day.  I wish we had invited one of the kinder staff along, as this would have made a huge difference for their confidence and proficiency with Noah's AACJenna has a wealth of knowledge and experience with AAC, this can be a rare find!  We learnt so much about language and understanding, and heaps of skills to support Noah to extend his language, grammar and communication.  It was great to chat to other families going through similar experiences, and to hear from other people who use AAC as their primary means of communication.  We completed the course with much greater confidence and without the apprehension with which we started.  We are really grateful to Jenna, Kids Plus and the NDIS for giving us the opportunity to participate.”AAConnect (TM) will be returning in Term 2 and Term 3 of 2021, along with a workshop for siblings of AAC users in March 2021.The 10-week program consists of interactive group workshops focusing on AAC and helps develop strategies to support the use of AAC systems, increase knowledge of your child’s communication systems and device and teaches strategies to assist children in communicating various language functions.If you would like to know more, or register for our 2021 program, click here.