Integrating Augmentative Communication Into The IEP

In my last blog post I began to talk about students with disabilities who cannot speak. I explained that these students can display learned helplessness. Because of this saddening behavior, educators need to encourage these students to use their augmentative communication and follow the steps I talked about to help these students overcome learned helplessness! Since it is so important for students with disabilities who cannot speak to use their augmentative communication, in this blog post, I am going to talk about how to integrate augmentative communication into a students' IEP.  That being said, the purpose of this blog is to let educators and parents know how to integrate augmentative communication into the IEP.

Ways To Integrate Augmentative Communication Into An IEP:

• "...the IEP should include the use of the augmentative communication system within the student's educational program" (Dell, A.G., Newton, D.A., & Petroff, J.G.).
• The student must have "goals and objectives that reflect the use and continued development of the system" (Dell, A.G., Newton, D.A., & Petroff, J.G.).
• There are 3 goal areas to consider for augmentative communication:
• Communication
• Instruction/Academic
• Social Interactions
• How the student uses his or her augmentative communication device should be "integrated within and across the school day, including both instructional and non-instructional periods" (Dell, A.G., Newton, D.A., & Petroff, J.G.).
• "The IEP must include clear statements reflecting the student's communication needs across environments and descriptions of how the specific features of the system will be used by the student" (Dell, A.G., Newton, D.A., & Petroff, J.G.). 
• Include:
•  A "list of the augmentative communication services to be provided by related service personnel (such as the speech language pathologist and occupational therapist)" (Dell, A.G., Newton, D.A., & Petroff, J.G.).
•  Identify the party responsible for "device maintenance and operation" (Dell, A.G., Newton, D.A., & Petroff, J.G.).

A child using augmentative communication.

It is really important for educators to understand how to integrate augmentative communication into a student's IEP. Since you never know what type of students you are going to have in your classroom and what their needs are going to be, it is important for a teacher to understand all types of assistive technology that is available to help their students and how they can integrate it into their IEP. After writing this blog, I definitely feel more confident about being apart of an IEP team that is trying to integrate an augmentative communication device into a child's IEP!!

Dell, A.G., Newton, D.A., & Petroff, J.G. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom. Boston. PEARSON.