Who's Afraid of AAC? is a clear and concise guide to Augmentative and Alternative Communication in the UK and will be an essential resource for all Speech and Language Therapists, educators, parents and carers supporting children with non-verbal communication. This book sets out to demystify AAC by demonstrating that you already have the skills necessary to use AAC successfully. Key features include: an overview of the different types of AAC and analysis of the best available approaches and tools to give you the context you need to make specific recommendations and choices; thorough sections on different settings including Home, Early Years, Primary, Secondary and Special Schools so that guidance is relevant to individual needs; numerous practical examples, templates and activities to help you implement AAC in all settings; summaries of recent research and hot topics including eye-gaze technology, using AAC in exams, and internet safety so that you have the most up-to-date guidance at your fingertips. Created by a Speech and Language Therapist who specialises in AAC training for therapists, educators, and individuals with communication needs, as well as parents and carers, this is the only book of its kind written for a UK audience. Table of Contents 1: What is Communication? 2: Typical Language Development 3: The Diversity of the AAC Population 4: Atypical Language Development and Acquired Disorders 5: No-tech, Low-tech and Light-tech AAC 6: High-tech AAC 7: Alternative Access and Mounting 8: Why Are We Afraid of AAC? 9: Aided Language Stimulation 10: AAC Assessment 11: Starting out at Home and in the Early Years Setting 12: A New Adventure in Primary School 13: Widening Horizons at Secondary School 14: Take off into the World of University, Work and Independent Living 15: Changing Circumstances 16: Target-setting and EHCPs 17: AAC Competencies Overview Appendix: Further Information, Acknowledgements About the Author Alison Battye is a practising Speech and Language Therapist who specialises in for children with Complex Needs and Autism Spectrum Disorder. She has worked across mainstream and special school settings from Foundation Stage to Further Education, supporting practitioners in implementing AAC with children and young people.
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