(73 - 03) Support for Special Education Teachers to Facilitate Student Augmentative and Alternative Communication Use

Abstract: This presentation described a research study that looked at the following research questions: 1)What supports have special education teachers received from speech-language pathologists, school and district level administration, and caregivers to facilitate student AAC use in the classroom? 2) Do special education teachers who self-report higher levels of support also self-report higher levels of knowledge and skill in facilitating student AAC use in the classroom? 3) What supports to special education teachers identify as helping them facilitate student AAC use in the classroom? 4) What additional supports to special education teachers believe would help them facilitate student AAC use in the classroom?

SPECIFIC AIMS
Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is a set of assistive technology tools and strategies that can be employed when a person’s current communication ability does not match their needs. Types of AAC include sign language, symbol boards, communication books, picture exchange systems, alphabet charts, and speech generating devices (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, n.d.; International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication, n.d.). AAC can be utilized across the lifespan, with many school-aged children being AAC users. A 2018 study by Andzik et al. found that 44% of school-aged children with communication needs were not proficient at using verbal speech as their primary means of communication and required an AAC system to communicate. AAC use by school-aged children has been shown to have many benefits. Kovacs (2021) found that people who use AAC to communicate may benefit from this intervention in all areas of language (semantics, pragmatics, phonology, morphology, syntax). A 2021 systemic review of research on AAC use by children ages 6-10 echoed these results (Langarika-Rocafort et al., 2021).

Despite the prevalence and documented benefits of AAC, research has consistently shown that it is not regularly implemented correctly in schools. Andzik et al. (2016) found that students who used AAC to communicate did not have their devices available to them for 15-46% of communication opportunities. The U.S. Department of Education (2017) has identified special education teachers as key members of a child’s communication team. However, special education teachers do not receive adequate training to facilitate student AAC use in the classroom (Andzik et al., 2019; Da Fonte et al, 2022). However, studies have shown that special education teachers who receive support from school administration and speech-language pathologists are better at facilitating student AAC use (Andzik et al., 2019; Moorcroft et al., 2019).

To date, no studies have investigated specific supports that help special education teachers facilitate student AAC use. This proposal aims to fill this gap in the existing literature regarding support for special education teachers to facilitate AAC use by beginning to identify what supports these teachers have received and what supports these teachers believe to be effective.

Research Question 1. What supports have special education teachers received from speech-language pathologists, school and district level administration, and caregivers to facilitate student AAC use in the classroom?
Research Question 2. Do special education teachers who self-report higher levels of support also self-report higher levels of knowledge and skill in facilitating student AAC use in the classroom?
Research Question 3. What supports to special education teachers identify as helping them facilitate student AAC use in the classroom?
Research Question 4. What additional supports to special education teachers believe would help them facilitate student AAC use in the classroom?

RESEARCH PLAN
In this descriptive and correlational study, we will use online questionnaires for to collect information from teachers.

Participants
Teachers
We will recruit 200 teachers who are currently employed at a public school in the United States. Teachers will be recruited by emailing state and district level special education coordinators.
Inclusion Criteria:
Must be a teacher currently employed as a special education teacher at a public school in the United States. Additionally, teachers must have received their professional educator training in the United States and have worked with at least one student who uses AAC.
Exclusion Criteria:
Teachers will be excluded if they are not currently employed as a special education teacher at a public school in the United States. Additionally, teachers will be excluded if they received their professional educator training outside the United States or have not worked with at least one student who uses AAC.

Measures
Support to Facilitate AAC Use (unpublished questionnaire)
The Support to Facilitate AAC Use is a 56-item questionnaire designed to assess how special education teachers are currently being supported to facilitate student AAC use in the classroom, what supports these teachers find effective, and what additional supports teachers would like to receive. Participants will be asked about their current employment, educational background, familiarity with AAC, training related to AAC use, and history of working with students who use AAC. Participants will then be asked to rate their level of agreement with statements regarding support they receive to facilitate student AAC use using a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 4 (Strongly Agree). Finally, participants will be asked open-ended questions to allow them to expand on their answers. School ZIP codes will be collected to all the study team to examine how a school’s socioeconomic status impacts the supports that teachers receive. No other personal or identifiable information will be collected. It is expected that it will take 15-20 to complete the survey.

Data Analysis
To answer Research Question 2, a correlational analysis will be conducted. We expect that teacher who have receive more support will self-report higher levels of knowledge and skill in facilitating student AAC use. We also expect that more years of experience, higher education level, more experience working with students who use AAC will correlate with higher levels knowledge and skill. Finally, we believe that teachers who have smaller caseloads, work with paraprofessionals, and work in schools with a higher socioeconomic status will report receiving higher levels of support to facilitate student AAC use.

To answer Research Questions 1, 3, and 4, categorical coding will be conducted. We will read all answers to free response questions, and code these responses for themes. We expect to discover themes related to time, training, and caseload to emerge from categorical coding.

References
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). Augmentative and alternative communication (practice portal). American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/professional-issues/augmentative-and-alternative-communication/

Andzik, N. R., Chung, Y., Doneski-Nicol, J., & Dollarhide, C. T. (2019). AAC services in schools: A special educator's perspective. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 65(2), 89-97. https://doi.org/10.1080/20473869.2017.1368909

Andzik, N. R., Chung, Y. C., & Kranak, M. P. (2016). Communication opportunities for elementary school students who use augmentative and alternative communication. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 32(4), 272-281. https://doi.org/10.1080/07434618.2016.1241299

Andzik, N. R., Schaefer, J. M., Nichols, R. T., & Chung, Y.C. (2018). National survey describing and quantifying students with communication needs. Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 21(1), 40-47. https://doi.org/10.1080/17518423.2017.1339133

Da Fonte, A. M., Boesch, M. C., DeLuca, E. R., Papp, S. K., Mohler, A. E., Holmes, E. E., Clouse, K. A., Young, R. D., & Urbano, R. Current preparation status in AAC: Perspectives of special education teachers in the united states. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, ahead-of-print(-), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/07434618.2022.2046851

International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. (n.d.). What is AAC? International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. https://isaac-online.org/english/what-is-aac/

Kovacs, T. (2021). A survey of American speech-language pathologists’ perspectives on augmentative and alternative communication assessment and interventions across language domains. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 30(3), 1038-1048. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_ajslp-20-00224

Langarika-Rocafort, A., Mondragon, N. I., & Etxebarrieta, G. R. (2021). A systematic review of research on augmentative and alternative communication interventions for children aged 6-10 in the last decade. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 52(3), 899-916. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_lshss-20-00005

Moorcroft, A., Scarinci, N., & Meyer, C. (2019). A systematic review of the barriers and facilitators to the provision and use of low-tech and unaided AAC systems for people with complex communication needs and their families. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 14(7), 710-731. https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2018.1499135

U. S. Department of Education. (2017). Sec. 300.321 IEP team. IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/d/300.321

Summary of Presentation : This presentation will focus on the results of a nationwide survey of special education teachers. Teachers were asked to reflect on the current types and amount of support they receive from speech-language pathologists, school administrators, the school community, and student caregivers to facilitate student AAC use. In the presentation, we will review the types of AAC and benefits of AAC. We will discuss how AAC is currently used in schools, and what factors have already been identified that help special education teachers facilitate student AAC use. The results of the study will be discussed and audience questions will be answered.