This week we are going to discuss the larger ethical issues around AAC. Please consider the following issues and discuss them at length : 1. People who use AAC must carry additional materials/equipment to speak/communicate. This also has implications. Please consider how technology is trying to address some of this through such things as universal design. How does this impact communication & socialization?

The benefit of our generation is technology and it’s rapid rate of adapting to our lifestyle. I remember working with a student 5 years ago who used a dynavox and it was big, bulky, and no one but the speech pathologist new how to work it. Now that everyone has a smartphone and apps galore this technology (touch screen) has become second nature. These devices have become smaller with more RAM meaning faster performance. The other benefit is that there are many companies looking to create programs and devices to be used with the disabilities population. Although the number of resources is increasing the format of these programs are not all the same. For example, for PECs, at my school we use “Boardmaker” to create the pictures used for communication. However, when I have gone to certain home sessions, the PECs at home are not made through that program but through a different one. Generalization and exposure to different types of “bathroom” or “break” pictures is a great end goal, and yet a weakness for many children on the spectrum.

Another con to having an AAC that requires additional materials and equipment is the fact of waiting for the student to formulate their sentences. Working with younger children, waiting is one area of socialization that typical children even struggle with. I have a student that recently switched to an ipod touch with proloquo on it, however before she had a PECs book. If she wanted to communicate she would have to flip through pages, put the icon on the sentence strip, once the sentence was complete hand to a peer. That process for some children was long. Most of the time the student would be half way through this process and the communication partner would lose interest. At other times there is the problem of the word not being in the device, so the student either has to come up with a comparable item or become frustrated because they can’t express what they want or need. As a maintenance issue that I had a found was losing the PECs pictures. I tend to work with the more behavioral students and usually the PECs book was the first thing to be thrown and the pictures, even though had velcro would be all over the place. So once she switched to the Ipod touch, the idea of not having to worry about if the item she wanted would be in the book was great. Now the only concern is if the protective case will hold up during an episode.

2. Advanced AAC devices are generally not considered standardized accommodations on state mandated tests or standardized assessments. Some would say they give an unfair advantage to the student who uses them or that their answers are truly not their own words. How can this be addressed? What are the bigger issues? I can see where they are coming from where it can be perceived as giving them an unfair advantage. The vocabulary needed for the test (i.e correct answers) has to be included in the device almost like a topic page. It would seem a little silly to put incorrect answers into the device. With that being said, I know I do not go around talking about molecules in my everyday conversations, so it would seem to stand out if it was in a device under the “Chemistry”. It really is a contradiction. A standardized test is the make it the same for all students. Where as the students using AAC are mostly likely on an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) of some sort. So how can you make a student who needs things individualized and make it standard? I know for the MCAS, I have had to do the MCAS Alternative Portfolio, whereas the teacher, we have to prove progression or possible mastery in the target standard objective with evidence as well. I like this idea because it allows for the student to show mastery with familiar materials, no time limits, and nothing in the environment really has to change for them. Where I am torn is with the SATs for example. The MCAS is done over multiple days, whereas the SATs are not. Do you create a different test for that population using AACs and expect more of a narration than multiple choice? I’m not quite sure.