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Speech Pathology Australia: Speech Pathology in Schools Project
Complex communication needs (CCN) is the
term used to describe SLCN in association
with cognitive, physical, perceptual, or sensory
impairments. Students with CCN may have
difficulties with understanding or using speech
and language for communication, and may use
different modes to add to, or as an alternative
to their speech. Examples include using signs
and gestures, a communication book or board
with symbols, or a speech output device.
These are called augmentative and alternative
communication (AAC).
CCN may lead to communication partners,
including teachers, having reduced expectations,
and providing reduced opportunities for
communication participation and learning for
students with CCN (Pennington & McConchie,
1999). Attempts to communicate may not be
recognised or acknowledged. They may have
fewer interactions and these may be shorter.
Their needs may be anticipated and they may
not be asked or expected to take their turn in
interactions or within learning activities (Harris,
1982; Light, Collier, & Parnes, 1985). These
reduced expectations and opportunities impact
on opportunities for learning and using language.
There is a broad scope of the desired outcomes
of AAC interventions. The focus is not on
teaching students to use symbols or devices,
but to support them to share meaning and
involvement in everyday life activities. Teachers
may have trouble understanding how to
integrate use of AAC - Augmentative and
Alternative Communication into the learning
environment. As well as working directly with the
student to develop their communication skills,
the speech pathologist plays an important role
in supporting communication partners, both
educators and other students, to understand
how the student communicates, and the
strategies to ensure that the student can
participate in all activities at school, in the same
way as other students.
The Participation Model (Beukelman & Mirenda,
2014) provides a great framework to help identify
goals for classroom participation, as well as the
opportunity and skills based barriers which may
need to be addressed to achieve these. Speech
pathologists typically play an important role in
Complex communication needs and
augmentative and alternative communication
Definition of AAC
An area of clinical and educational
practice that provides communication
strategies, techniques, and
interventions for people with a range
of communication limitations. The
term “augmentative” in this context
means supplemental or additional to
speech. Augmentative techniques (e.g.,
gestures, facial expressions, and items
of reference) are commonly used when
communicating and interacting with
others. The use of the term “alternative”
acknowledges that there are some
individuals whose speech is sufficiently
impaired that they must rely completely
on strategies, systems, and techniques
which do not augment speech but are
alternatives to speech (SPA, 2013).
Purpose of AAC
To enable the person to meet all of his/
her varied communication requirements
as intelligibly, specifically, efficiently,
independently and in as socially valued a
manner as possible; and to understand
others and to be understood (Porter,
2004).
“The focus is not on
teaching students
to use symbols
or devices, but
to support them
to share meaning
and involvement
in everyday life
activities.”