How do I know if my child needs an Assistive Technology (AT) or Alternative-Augmentative Communication (AAC) Assessment?
This is a question we get asked often. In the spirit of teamwork, we always recommend starting with your school team. Case managers, general education teachers, special education teachers, speech/language therapists, principals, occupational therapists, psychologists and other team members are a valuable part of your child's progress and have insight on what are appropriate next steps?
If your child is not making progress on his or her goals, questions you can ask:
- Would assistive technology help my child meet a particular goal?
- improve communication opportunities?
- increase functional communication skills?
- help with reading comprehension?
- provide an alternative to paper/pencil tasks?
- assist with lengthy writing assignments?
- provide support with study skills in the content area subjects such as history or science?
- decrease anxiety about school work and work completion?
- Are there any tools we can try at school without an assessment?
- What tools has the team tried to support goals where my child is not making meaningful progress?
If your school team has made an effort to change strategies or use available school technology tools and resources, but your are not seeing progress, then it might be time for additional expertise.