Power of AAC: Child & Family

Every parent or therapist wishes for a child to communicate verbally with proficiency. This objective can create anxiety for the child, parents, teachers, and caregivers.

Although many people know about Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) system like gestures, sign language, PECS, communication boards, or high-tech AAC apps, integrating AAC into everyday activities can greatly improve your child's communication skills. This blog post will explore various activities that can be implemented to encourage communication opportunities within the household.

As we focus on developing a child's verbal communication skills, we must ensure that their right to communicate is not overlooked. Even if they cannot speak, children have other ways to express themselves. In many cases, gestures and pointing may not be adequate for effective communication in children. They will progress from simply asking to actively seeking out objects or individuals that are not visible, responding to questions, and telling stories.

So, where can we begin?

1. Greeting

   1. When daddy leaving for work, encourage to greet with 1 icon [Bye].

   2. More advanced: [Bye] [Daddy].

   3. Children can also identify family members (e.g. daddy, mummy, siblings, grandparents)

2. Meal/Snack Time

   1. Allow child to request for their favourite food or what he/she wants [french fries].

   2. They can also reject food that they dislike [No]

   3. We can also use verbs [eat], [cut], [drink]

   4. We can also encourage the use of phrases/sentences [I want][eat][french fries]

   

   
   

3. Hide and seek

   1. We can also encourage children to not only take on the "responsive" role in communication, but also to "INITIATE" or "ASK QUESTIONS"

   2. Mummy can team up with the child to look for daddy or his/her siblings.

   3. Ask question by selecting [Where?] or [Where are you?]

   4. Can create opportunity by looking behind the door and comment

      [No] = not here/nobody here

   5. Comment when found the person hiding [Found you!]

   6. Also, answering question [Here], [behind] [curtain]

   
   

   

   
   

Using AAC as an alternative or augmentative communication method for children can be a way to help them communicate without pressure to speak. This can reduce stress for both the child and parents, especially when the child is struggling to develop verbal communication skills.

Children pick up on our emotional tone milliseconds before processing our words. - youthdynamicsmt

Have fun exploring the apps and activities. Daily routines like mealtime, greetings, and simple games can provide valuable communication opportunities for your child.