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Posted by Ceanna MacGregor on the 28th May, 2025
Do you support someone to use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)? Or are you implementing AAC in your setting? If so, you are an AAC Leader, yippee! (Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you have to be an AAC expert!).
You don't need a title or high level of expertise to be a leader in AAC. Whether you are a parent, educator, therapist or advocate, the way that we engage and share about AAC can influence the mindset of others.
Last year, as part of a collaborative project with the ‘Scottish AAC Geeks,’ a group of Scottish AAC advocates with a combination of personal and professional experience related to AAC, we issued a survey and later presented a workshop at the Communication Matters Conference 2024. We invited people to share their thoughts and experiences around attitudes towards AAC and the impact they have on AAC implementation.
Respondents were from the UK, Ireland, USA, and France, mainly with education, speech and language or family/caregiver connections to AAC, with 92% supporting someone using high-tech robust AAC such as speech generating devices.
We aimed to gather opinions on mindset towards AAC implementation, negative and positive, barriers and successes. We hoped to gain positive experiences and ideas, particularly in overcoming challenges and embedding realistic strategies to support AAC.
Something that emerged from the responses was that regardless of their background and experiences, many people felt alone in advocating for and implementing AAC. A continued need to spread awareness and bust myths was also highlighted.
Although many people face challenges in introducing and implementing AAC, all respondents also noted that they had encountered positive attitudes when implementing AAC strategies and tools.
Following the survey, we submitted an abstract to present a workshop at the Communication Matters Conference 2024.
The Communication Matters Conference is an excellent way to connect with and learn from others in the field of AAC and has a fantastic atmosphere.
Each year there is a different theme. Last year's theme was 'Empowerment.' From the presentations and workshops I attended and conversations I had, some common themes were:
This year’s conference takes place on the 7th - 9th of September with an additional research study day on the 10th. Find out more and register your interest on the Communication Matters Conference 2025 website.
Along with Melanie Boyle, a fellow Scottish AAC Geek, we presented key themes from our survey and wider conversations. Our interactive workshop focused on three main areas:
In our discussions in the Scottish AAC Geeks group, we recognised that when we are supporting AAC users, no matter the environment or position, we all take on various leadership ‘roles' through how we communicate and share about AAC every day.
We can all influence positive change by creating ripples through the everyday AAC conversations we have. This image below describes how we see AAC leadership.
We invited attendees to reflect on these roles, to consider their strengths and what their next steps as an AAC leader might be.
The workshop included self-evaluation activities and discussions on maintaining positive attitudes. Participants shared their own experiences and potential strategies for promoting a positive mindset in their circles.
Talking with Tech is a podcast hosted by speech-language pathologists Rachel Madel and Chris Bugaj where they discuss all things AAC.
Melanie and I have been fans of the podcast for a long time. We were delighted to have Chris join our workshop at the Communication Matters Conference last year, followed by great conversations. And in January, we were privileged to follow it all up on the podcast.
To find out more about our project, listen to our podcast episode here:
Building Connection Through AAC Professional Learning Networks.
Feeling isolated in implementing AAC was one of the main points that arose from the survey, workshop and something that often comes up in conversations with people who have a personal or professional link to AAC.
We wanted to expand on the concept of AAC leadership roles and provide a forum to share information to support different areas of AAC leadership. We also wanted to collate actionable strategies to overcome barriers in AAC mindset and implementation.
We have created a Padlet with separate pages for each role given in the AAC Leader graphic. Within each page, there are post-its with comments and ideas shared by others. In these pages, we have started adding links to information and resources related to the comments.
The aim is for this to be a collaborative resource, by people who are implementing, supporting, and leading AAC to share with others who are implementing, supporting, and leading AAC. You can submit a post or link to be added to any page. There is also a section where you can post a question, or answer any that have been posted to the page.
The Padlet is still in its early stages of development and will evolve in line with the engagement it receives. If you’d like to help boost the Padlet’s progression, consider the following questions in relation to your own experience of AAC implementation:
Sharing your experiences could help someone else. To view or contribute to this growing treasure trove, visit the AAC Leader Padlet:
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