[Quick Tip] Three Tips for Using AAC in Your Sensory-Based Sessions
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How can I start using AAC in sensory‑based speech sessions?
How do you implement AAC in sensory-based speech sessions? Unless you're in an octopus, this can be very hard sometimes, especially with our kids who need a lot of movement and they already need our two hands. Where can we what hand are we going to use to hold the AAC device if we need our hands to keep the child occupied and keep them engaging in the sensory activities? So let's talk about what. you can do to make it easier to implement AAC in your sensory based sessions.
What's up everyone and welcome to Making the Shift for Autistic Kids.
We're an SLP couple from California with four boys.
And we're here every week to bring you neuroaffirming tips, tricks, and tools. Are you ready to make the shift? Let's do this!
As you all know, if you have been listening for a while, I am a sensory trained SLP and using sensory in my speech sessions is something that I have done for a very long time, something I will continue to do and something you should do too, because Sensory helps with regulation, which helps with engagement and helps with communication, which is our goal. So I get c asked a lot, but how do I use AAC when I'm in these sessions where these kids require so much of me?
What strategies help when I only have one hand free for the AAC device?
And I'm not gonna lie. I've I've been there done that and it can be hard. So I'm gonna give you A couple of options here. Okay, option one is if you have another person in your session. Have that person model on the device while you are helping the child to engage in the activity, right? So we have a lot of times in our clinic where there might be a therapist and then like I might step in to supervise and then maybe the therapist will be doing the activity mostly with the child and I'll be sitting right alongside her modeling on the device, or we might have give the parent the job of modeling on the device while we're in session. Okay, but I also realized that we don't always have a second set of hands in the session.
So what do we do when we don't have a second set of hands? Here are two options, okay? One is Give yourself grace and permission.
How does having a second person in the session simplify AAC modeling?
To focus on regulation. We need to be regulated in order to communicate. Okay. So if we have a child who's coming in and they're so dysregulated. The chance of us truly helping them make progress in their A AC device and communicating with their device. Um, is much lower when they are dysregulated, right? So we wanna make sure that regulation is still a priority. So if you think that dedicating the first few minutes of your session or five minutes of your session to just doing something that is solely for the purpose of helping the child to become regulated. Do that. It's okay to do that. You can bring the AAC device out then after you do that activity. Okay, and option two.
Why is child regulation the first step before introducing AAC?
Which is something that We do with many, many of our sessions and almost all, I guess I would say of our AAC based, um our AAC sensory based sessions, which is Making sure that you are creating opportunities. in your play for AAC. So for example, if you're doing an obstacle course, you might have an opportunity to model on the device or allow the child to Or, you know, encourage the child to use the device to like make some kind of request or comment at the beginning of a of the activity. For example Maybe you have a puzzle that's sitting outside of the tunnel and you want the child to take the puzzle piece and go through the tunnel. So maybe before they go through the tunnel, they've got this puzzle and that's a great opportunity for
them to select which, you know, animal puzzle piece they want or what vehicle they want using their device or even just an opportunity to model Ready Set Go or something like that. Right.
How can I create play opportunities that naturally incorporate the AAC device?
So you're giving them the opportunity before then moving through the more movement based activity. And something I'll do it, for example, is have them take a puzzle piece through an entire obstacle course. And then at the very end of the obstacle course is where I keep the board for the puzzle. So then when they get to the board of the puzzle, you can model something else like put it in or you could model, I did it, or yay, or all done, or something like that.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
How can I start using AAC in sensory‑based speech sessions?
0:00–1:29
2
What strategies help when I only have one hand free for the AAC device?
1:29–2:25
3
How does having a second person in the session simplify AAC modeling?
2:25–3:13
4
Why is child regulation the first step before introducing AAC?
3:13–4:15
5
How can I create play opportunities that naturally incorporate the AAC device?
4:15–5:32
6
Where can I learn more about sensory‑based AAC strategies in the free workshop?
5:32–6:23
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from The NeuroAffirm Podcast
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Ep. 123 Not Seeing Progress in Speech Therapy? Start Here.
Ep. 122 Screen Time Considerations for Autistic Kids
Ep. 121 The Biggest Sensory Mistakes SLPs Make
Ep. 120 Why Anxiety is So Common in Autism (And What Actually Helps)