Special education teacher attitudes toward AAC: preliminary survey

Abstract

This preliminary study was designed to investigate the attitudes of special education teachers in a midwestern state toward the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems by students with severe communication impairments. A focus group of professionals working with AAC users was used to develop a survey instrument that was sent to 317 special education teachers. Results indicate that teachers' perceptions of their students' abilities to learn to communicate more effectively was the strongest positive influence on their intentions to use AAC systems in the classroom. However, teachers' perceptions of students' abilities appeared to be strongly affected by perceptions of their own skills and responsibilities to provide communication training in the classroom. Implications of the results with regards to AAC service delivery and teacher preparation programs are discussed.