How a communication device has helped me understand student behavior.
By Maggie Moore
Celia, a 4 year old in my blended preschool classroom, was pacing around and vocalizing in apparent frustration. Celia’s language skills were emerging. While she sometimes said words like no, yes, and help, she primarily gestures. I asked her what was wrong and what she needed and then put a sentence starter into her Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device: “I want…” hoping that she would fill in the blank. Instead of finishing my sentence, Celia typed “I feel yummy.” She did this by selecting the icon for I, then the icon for feel, and, after scrolling through the feelings, for yummy. A lightbulb went off in my mind; yummy… she must be hungry. Sure enough, her snack container was empty. I gave Celia a snack and she settled back into learning. Her AAC helped communicate her needs. And, it helped me, as her teacher, to understand them so that we could continue learning.
If kids don’t have the vocabulary, their behavior does the communicating for them. This is often very hard for teachers like me to decipher. The AAC that Celia uses might look like a regular iPad but it is an invaluable tool for Celia. The device comes with a specialized communication app which remains open and accessible to Celia at all times. With the help of Celia’s speech and language pathologist, we have been able to personalize her AAC device with relevant vocabulary, like the names of her classmates and teachers. Vocabulary is organized on a grid of icons. The home page contains “core” or high usage vocabulary such as I, my, feel, want, yes, and no. Celia can access additional vocabulary by selecting other groups such as actions, people, social, and describe.
It takes some time for Celia and other students like her to locate all the words they need, but once they learn, an entire linguistic world opens up to them. When Celia selects an icon, like “feel” or “yummy,” the device says the words aloud. When she builds a sentence, her device will read that sentence aloud. This audio output is crucial; it gives Celia a voice to get a communication partner’s attention while she learns to use verbal language.
For students with disabilities like Celia, and for teachers like me, AAC devices are extraordinarily helpful. We need to make them available at scale. Here is how.
We should include AAC training in educator prep programs for more seamless implementation. Once Celia was approved for an AAC device, I was lucky enough to get trained on how to use the app. But, Celia’s future teachers will more than likely need to seek out training for themselves.
Districts could create AAC departments where they do not exist. Chicago Public Schools is an example of this: It has the Assistive Technology Resource Center (ATRC) staffed by special educators, speech and language pathologists, and other specialized individuals. One of the functions of the ATRC is to manage AAC evaluations, access, and training. The ATRC hosted the training that I attended to learn about Celia’s AAC device.
Once a department is formed, districts can increase staffing in order to expedite the evaluation process which today can take many months. There is a long wait list, which tells us a lot about the need for these devices. Celia was referred for an AAC evaluation in May of 2024 and didn’t get a device until November 2024. Other students wait even longer. This wastes precious time during a child’s important cognitive and language development.
When it comes to funding, districts can consider having devices for classroom use in addition to devices for particular students, and access to an AAC app for teachers. My own school has piloted this to great success. Teachers saw a need and took initiative and our school leaders supported us financially and logistically by purchasing communication app access for teachers who expressed interest. By downloading the app to my own district-issued iPad, which cost my school a one time fee of $300 I was not only able to forgo the use of a student device but could model its use for my students. While it is critical to have speech and language experts oversee each individual’s AAC use, it is also developmentally appropriate for students to have consistent practice using their device across settings and situations. Using the classroom AAC during the day also leads to staff and student comfortability with app usage, and helps normalize alternative ways of communicating.
Finally, AI developers should take note: this is what teachers and students need. Those in the business of developing AI for education could consider including an evolving, frequently-used word page. When we were studying trees, for example, it took Celia three clicks to get to the word ‘tree’ (1. groups, 2. nature, 3. tree). With a more integrated algorithm that generates these commonly used vocabulary words and makes them more readily available, Celia could access curricular vocabulary like “tree” that much quicker.
Every day, AAC devices are helping students like Celia learn to communicate faster and better. We should expand access so Celia can feel “yummy” and be able to learn. Celia’s device will grow with her through her educational journey. And the future looks brighter because of it.
Maggie Moore is a blended preschool co-teacher at Beard Elementary School in Chicago. She is a 2024–2025 Teach Plus Illinois Early Childhood Educator Policy Fellow.
