I’m glad you’re here.
If the mistake of directly translating Core Words hit a little close to home, you are not alone. We did what we were taught. But now we know better.
2 Semester Credits | ED 501 Course
This course prepares clinicians to deliver culturally responsive Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) supports. Students will master family-centered assessment, ethical planning, and contextual AAC awareness necessary to support students from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds.
Preview syllabus here.
Required Text: Mindel, M. G., & John, J. (2021). AAC for All. Plural Publishing.
Purchase required text direct from publisher here. Use promo code ST15 for 15% off your order.
DON’T MISS THIS CHANCE TO GROW!
This 2-credit course is designed to help school SLPs build culturally and linguistically responsive AAC systems that honor both languages without burning out.
If you are anything like me, you work in a district with way more languages than page sets. You have tried to program a low incidence language and realized direct translation is not enough. You want your MLL students' devices to be used at home and at school, not abandoned.
In this course, you'll learn...
Why Core Words are not universal and why direct translation increases risk of device abandonment
How to include families from the VERY BEGINNING of device design, even with an interpreter
How to use ethnographic interviewing to determine WITH the family the Core and Fringe Words they actually use at home and in community
How to program vocabulary that is culturally and linguistically meaningful, not just translated, so families see themselves in the device
Practical strategies you can use Monday to support AAC use across settings
The concepts in this course are the key to reducing device abandonment, building family trust, and creating AAC systems where a student's home language is honored, supported, valued, celebrated, and authentically represented.