My son is an emerging "AAC" language learner. He is learning to use assistive technology to help him express verbal language.
"AAC" is an acronym for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. These are communication strategies used by those who have a difficult time with expressive, spoken language -- for any number of reasons. My son is learning to use a high-tech form of AAC via a communication app on an iPad device.
My family recently returned from a five-week-long intensive AAC/language summer camp in Massachusetts. As my son's medical homecare provider, I, too, had the opportunity to attend this camp. For five weeks, I was immersed in AAC language learning alongside him. I had the opportunity to practice language skills. I practiced modeling language expression. I learned a lot about the technology and other strategies to help my son expand his understanding and use of language skills at home.
One of the first goals I had when we arrived home was to create for him an entire page on his device dedicated to his medical care tasks and time-of-day routines.
My "end goal" is to have a page of words and phrases indicating specific care tasks that he can either request to be done or identify as having been completed. Eventually, I want him to take responsibility for these personal care tasks -- as many as possible. The first step, however, is giving him a method to talk about these tasks.
We are a long way off from him taking over his own medical care. (Many medical care tasks require additional support or an extra pair of hands regardless. So, some degree of support for many of these tasks will always be necessary.) That said, this page now also gives me a tool to communicate with him about these tasks through a different avenue -- one that is, personally, more relevant to him.
Now, I can hold his device in front of him, open to the "routines" page, and tell him, both verbally and by selecting the related icons, that it is time to administer medication, or perform our daily stretch, or visit the restroom.
It is also an easy way to model language use on his device with a very functional purpose.
And he loves it!
I overlooked how much he would appreciate me using the device to communicate the sequence of his medical cares. And, given that his morning care routine can take upwards of 2 or 3 hours, effective communication of "what comes next" or "first X, then Y, then Z, then done" is really a positive thing.
Comments