A voice allows someone to share thoughts and form relationships. AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) gives individuals with complex communication needs (CCN) a universally understandable way to express their thoughts and ideas. Could he point to his tooth? Sure. Could he hold it out to her in his hand? Absolutely. Maybe he did, but how would she know that he wasn’t saying that his tooth hurt when it came out or that he didn’t like the feel of the hole in his mouth or that he is sad that it’s not there anymore. Because of AAC, his great-grandma doesn’t have to guess. He can share a milestone with her independently and directly.
As many of you reading this probably know, October is AAC Awareness Month. I’ve been giving a lot of thought about how to celebrate AAC and what it means to raise awareness. Here’s what I’m thinking…
AAC is a tool, and tools in and of themselves are not very interesting. If someone put a dremel on the table in front of me, I might look at it and think “Eh, that’s a pretty sophisticated tool, but it looks a little scary.” However, people learn to use dremels to make wood into a piece of art, and if I saw someone use it to carve beautiful patterns in an arch, then it would have my interest. The “magic” happens because of the way someone uses a tool. The users make the tool special, whether it’s a dremel or an AAC device.
So we are celebrating what children and adults are able to do “Because of AAC,” and of course because of the support of people who love and encourage them. Feel free to join our celebration by sharing the people in your life who use AAC with #BecauseofAAC. If you’d like me to share it, please e-mail us at speakforyourselfaac@yahoo.com or send it in a Facebook message and let me know what is possible “because of AAC.” I will not be using any identifying information unless you request it. Also, if they are successful AAC users on something other than Speak for Yourself, we celebrate them as well. We have the privilege to know many children and adults “because of AAC” that we have known long before the iPad was invented.
Thank you to everyone who has already shared photos and to the many parents, grandparents, and professionals who share their progress, concerns, and questions on a regular basis and put so much effort into knowing their loved one better.
Also, a reminder that Speak for Yourself will be 50% off ($99.99 USD) on October 15th, 2014. Happy AAC Awareness Month!
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