Staff belief

It is your staff working with your learners who will put AAC implementation into practice. It is your staff who will find opportunities to use AAC, motivate the learners and encourage day to day development. It is for this very reason that it is important that you are aware of staff members opinions about AAC and provide them with knowledge and evidence to ensure they see the benefit and potential.

For staff, families, carer and professionals, introducing AAC can be a daunting experience. The educational settings we worked with felt it was important to acknowledge this and to allow all staff to overcome any negative beliefs around AAC implementation.

Example: Staff Belief

Below is an example of statements about staff beliefs which you may want to use within your AAC policy.

We know that classrooms can be fast paced, and professionals need the autonomy to work at the pace of the learner, giving the necessary time for learners to process information and develop their communication skills.

We know that if we do not provide opportunities for the individual to chat about things that are of interest to them, they are less likely to be motivated to use their AAC to communicate. Our staff provide appropriate opportunities for AAC learners which are purposeful and have meaning in real life contexts.

The research shows that unintentional negative attitudes towards AAC will inevitably affect its acquisition and use.

This means that:

• AAC systems are taught but not used.

• 30% of AAC systems are abandoned.

• 20% of systems are only used in formal teaching sessions.

• AAC users loose their skills over time.

• AAC systems are regarded as second class and therefore have low status.

• AAC systems are taught for a user’s perceived needs rather than conversation.

• Communication partners do not use AAC systems.

This is why we embrace the use of AAC within our school.