Breaking Down Common Barriers to AAC Use

In our course on how to best address common barriers to AAC use with patients, Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) will learn about commonly-encountered challenges and how to best address them. We’ll explore key aspects, including:

    • identifying common barriers to the implementation of AAC use among patients who would otherwise be good candidates
    • identify the factors that lead to device abandonment
    • utilize clinical strategies to target both patients and families to encourage initital and continued AAC use

Lingraphica’s course “Breaking Down Common Barriers to AAC Use” identifies common barriers frequently encountered by AAC device users. In this course, we will explore ways that SLPs can overcome these common barriers and encourage device use.

Barriers to high-tech AAC device use include a general lack of motivation, psychological factors, lack of care and communication partner support, concern about technological abilities, and device abandonment. In this course, we will unpack each of these challenges individually and offer strategies for overcoming them.

Lack of motivation can be attributed to several factors, some of which is outside of the SLP’s control. In this course, we will focus on factors which are within the clinician’s control, such as the methods used to motivate the person to use the device. We will ask questions such as, “Is the device content salient, meaningful, and fun?” in an effort to improve clinical practice.

We will also recognize the psychological factors that accompany a neurological diagnosis and explore which stage of grief is an ideal time to introduce AAC use.

Finally, we’ll address the fear and unfamiliarity with technology. We’ll discuss how confidence leads to competence, and offer strategies and tools for increasing a patient’s comfort with using AAC devices.

Breaking Down Common Barriers to AAC Use

To learn more about addressing common obstacles to AAC use, watch our free CE course,
“Breaking Down Common Barriers to AAC Use”.

Learn About AAC and Speech-Generating Devices