Professional Skills for Serving Students Who Use AAC in General Education Classrooms

TLDR

The inclusion movement is reshaping the roles of school‑based professionals who support students with augmentative and alternative communication. Focus‑group studies with speech‑language pathologists, teachers, support staff, and parents identified the professional skills required to aid AAC users in general‑education settings. Participants highlighted collaboration, curriculum access, social support, AAC system maintenance, and classroom structuring as essential, informing AAC service delivery and SLP training in inclusive classrooms.

Abstract

The roles of school-based professionals serving students with augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) needs are changing in light of the inclusion movement. Focus group research methodology was used to investigate professional skills regarded by educational team members as necessary to support students who used AAC in general education classrooms. Educational teams consisted of speech-language pathologists, classroom teachers, inclusion support teachers, instructional assistants, and parents. All valued the ability to work collaboratively, provide access to the core curriculum, cultivate social supports, maintain and operate the AAC system, and create classroom structures to educate heterogeneous groups of students. Implications are discussed for AAC service delivery and the professional preparation of speech-language pathologists serving as members of AAC teams in inclusive classrooms.