Augmentative Communication Systems Designed to Meet the Demands of Home and the Community

In my previous blog I explained the importance of communication devices being accessible at home and in the community. It is important that a student’s augmentative communication device is designed to meet their individual needs and demands on the student. The key to designing communication devices that accurately meet the student’s needs is through family involvement in the design and selection of material for the device. The family can provide great insight into particular vocabulary that is relevant to the student’s home life and after school activities. It is important to ensure that the child and the family understand how to properly operate the device. A great thing about having a device to use at home is that the extra practice with using the device will help them to become more comfortable and confident is using the device to communicate in school.