Professionals who support individuals with complex communication needs are often challenged to provide communication partners with meaningful, context-sensitive supports for people who use assistive technologies (AT) and/or augmentative/alternative communication (AAC). Bridgewater State University (BSU) and LifeStream, Inc. established a partnership to explore methods to support communication and independence for individuals who use or may use technology across contexts. This group underwent a range of self-study activities to identify ecologically valid means to support individuals with complex communication needs, through an ongoing and collaborative AT/AAC training program. The needs of support staff and/or agencies serving individuals who use AT and AAC systems in the southeastern region of Massachusetts were initially identified through feedback from brainstorming sessions with critical stakeholders, team goal-setting and mission planning, and input from five participants involved in a pilot program. The initial review of the self-study activities and project outcomes developed through this eleven-week staff training program have been summarized in recent national conference presentations (see Feeney, Pepin, Santos, Torres, ASHA, 2022;2023; ATIA, 2025) and include a framework for creating a theoretically sound and practically grounded training with direct application to specific individuals who use, or might benefit from, AT or AAC systems. A set of underlying principles for the training were generated from initial brainstorming meetings and team building activities, including, but not limited to: a) viewing everyday communication partners as critical in creating a positive culture of learning and education; b) viewing staff in contextualized projects as a means to promote transfer and generalization of AT/AAC skills to meaningful contexts; c) viewing the education of others through AT/AAC projects developed by direct care staff as a means to facilitate self-advocacy and d) valuing everyday communication partners as critical stakeholders in the AT/AAC screening, assessment, and intervention planning process.
The theoretical framework for this training is associated with Vygotskyan teaching and learning, (e.g., Rogoff, 1990; Vygotsky, 1962; Vygotsky, 1978) and is situated in relation to elements of recent and historical literature in AT and AAC (e.g., Romski, Sevcik, Adamson, 1997; Hill, 2003; Benson-Goldberg, Gullion, Erickson, 2025;). Themes supporting project-oriented teaching (e.g., Hoepner, Yingst, Harder, Zehm, 2022; Behn, Marshall, Togher, Cruise, 2019; Behn, Hoepner, Meulenbroek, Capo, Hart, 2022) as well as connections to AT/AAC supports for personnel working directly with individuals with complex communication needs, will be discussed in connection to developing communicative competence (e.g., Light and McNaughton, 2014; Erickson, Karen and Geist, 2016), methods for collaborative thinking (Goldbum, 2014), self-determination (e.g., Sigafoos, 1999), and evidence-based practice (ASHA, 2023).
After a brief review of the theoretical framework for the training and its alignment with a number of existing approaches described in the literature, self-study methods used to inform the implementation of the training will be summarized in relation to updates made in the training since its inception. These include a) the content of the training (e.g., the focus of weekly modules); b) the format and logistical concerns associated with the training (e.g., the number of weekly sessions, place and time of sessions, methods to find and review potential participants, methods to make materials accessible to all participants) and c) the scope of the training (e.g., the accessibility of the training to the deaf and hard of hearing). The team also employed informal pre, peri, and post participant surveys to identify individualized goals for the participants and methods used for the participants to evaluate the outcomes of the training. A critical component of this presentation includes a review of various examples of AT/AAC project materials generated over a four-year period. Among the 39 completed to date, projects have focused on areas such as a) budgeting for technology to fund a “smart home”; b) AI and Access to Art via technology for a Person with Mobility Challenges; c) developing a fully organized, searchable, Excel spreadsheet on resources for AT/AAC; d) a picture-planning system to support cooking; e) visual supports to manage money and f) technology to support good budgeting decisions. Four robust illustrations of completed projects will be highlighted in relation to a) the communication profile of the individual(s) for whom the AT or AAC support project was developed, b) examples of project-based AT and AAC experiments and their alignment with ecologically valid outcomes and c) sample materials generated by participants in the training. A summarized list of projects completed by individuals in the training will be shared. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions or offer a comment.
