im going to keep this short, I’m tired and low on spoons I have been for a while now, I mean low on spoons but I wanted to get something out for Autistic speaking day.
We need to stop treating AAC like a last ditch option, so often I see parents waiting till their kids ore older to try AAC, they are told to try for speech they believe that if they go straight to AAC that they will loose the opportunity for speech, but the science just isn’t behind this! Study after study has proven that if anything AAC helps promote speech but more importantly they are loosing valuable time and spending years denying their kids access to communication methods in fear of not getting for mouth words. This isn’t just against the since it’s massively cruel, providing and teaching communication to your child should take priority over all else. Not all of us will gain mouth words and that’s ok but it is critical you do everything to help us access methods of communication that work for us!
We need to do away with the idea of prove it low tech first this is archaic and BS just google “everything wrong with prove it low tech first”and that should give you plenty of blogs with explanations.
Introducing comprehensive aac early and modeling is critical
We need to start treating AAC like a language and we need to start valuing AAC as much as we do as mouth words!
We need to recognize that AAC access is important and critical for many individuals with a variety of persevered verbal abilities. i say percieved as all to often what you see is not all that we are trying to say or express but often we cant get all the right mouth words, or the wrong ones come out, or they wont come out at all even when we know exactly what we want to say.
there are many Autistics (and im sure NTs) who can speak well or even exceedingly well but loose speech and need AAC part time. their need is no less real than someone who has never spoke a word.
some individuals need AAC to help them hold and process thoughts as they type them out so they can communicate clearly. Their need for access to AAC is real!
Some Autiscs have an easier time typing or using symbols than mouth word their need for AAC is real
Autistics who ha intermittent speech, their need for AAC is rel
the autistic who has neever spoke a words need for AAC is real
Autistics that type and speak the words as they types need for AAC is real
baseline if someone expresses and interest in AAC no matter how old or how verbal their need and right to have access to AAC is real and valid
we need to change the converastion around AAC, from something tabo to just another way some individual communicate.
lastly it is acceptable and we need to nomalize switching between multiple modes of communication be it
AAC- signs- sounds-pecs
0r
verbal speech aac-sounds
or verbal speech-sogn
or
sign-aac sounds - letter board
or
letter board-verbal speech- pecs
and so on most any combination you can think of every individual has needs to be allowed their right to switch through ( yes even you)
