There has been an increased awareness of the need to address the mental health issues of people who need AAC. Work is being done by researchers across the globe to understand these issues and to address them (Noyes & Wilkinson, 2022; Pennacchia et al, 2025). Supporting the mental health and well-being of all children and youth is critically important. By Addressing the mental health and well-being of children and youth supports their development into adults who experience positive mental health are resilient and better able to learn, achieve success and build healthy relationships. Schools have an important role in nurturing students’ positive mental health and well-being.
Children and youth who need AAC are confronted with unique challenges, arguably the most significant of those is their ability to access language. Difficulty communicating has been identified as a risk factor that can threaten mental health and mental well-being. Evidence suggests individuals with disabilities, especially those with CCN, may face complicated emotional problems and experience a high rate of abuse (Blackstone & Wilkins, 2009).
This session is intended as an invitation to engage in conversation with professionals, relatives, researchers and AAC users to proactively consider the mental health and wellness of young people who need AAC as well as the identification of and attention to their mental health problems. The aim is to critically examine whether both past and current approaches to fostering mental health and wellbeing and addressing mental health problems in schools are intentionally and meaningfully inclusive of the unique needs of children and youth who need AAC.
We will begin by exploring some factors that are important to young people’s mental health and wellness. These include:
* Language development, as the ability to use and understand language around emotions, safety and agency is necessary to engage in meaningful conversations around mental health and one’s state of well-being (Na, et al.,2016).
* Narrative development. The development of narrative, telling and retelling stories as critical to making connections, healing wounds and developing a sense of self – all essential components in developing a child’s well-being and positive mental health (Soto & Starowicz, 2016).
* Friendships and positive inclusive relationships. Effective inclusion for AAC users is much more than physical placement in education, it requires intentional strategies to ensure meaningful participation, communication access, wellbeing support, and sustainable social relationships and friendships for these students (Østvik et al., 2017).
Then we will invite participants to enter breakout rooms to consider these and other issues that arise in the development of mental health and wellness of children and youth who need AAC, with a focus on school settings. Participants will be given a series of questions to guide their discussions.
The final component of this session will involve participants returning to the main group and sharing what they discussed with special attention to ideas they generated to enhance the approaches we can use to support young people who need AAC’s wellbeing and mental health.
The goals of this interactive session are:
* To prompt critical thinking and dialogue about the adequacy of current mental health and wellbeing support for AAC users in schools.
* To generate practical ideas for making school environments more inclusive, supportive, and empowering for all students, particularly those who benefit from AAC.
References:
Blackstone S.W. & Wilkins, D.P. (2009). Exploring the Importance of Emotional Competence in Children with Complex Communication Needs. Perspectives on Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 18, 78-87.
Na, J. Y., Wilkinson, K., Karny, M., Blackstone, S., & Stifter, C. (2016). A synthesis of relevant literature on the development of emotional competence: Implications for design of augmentative and alternative communication systems. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 25(3), 441–452. https://doi.org/10.1044/2016
Noyes, A.M. & Wilkinson, K.M. (2022). Supporting access to mental health services for patients who use augmentative and alternative communication: A proposed framework and suggestions for future directions. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 31(5) 2268-2282. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_AJSLP-22-00089
Østvik, J., Balandin, S., & Ytterhus, B. (2017). A “Visitor in the Class”: Marginalization of Students Using AAC in Mainstream Education Classes. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 29, 419–441. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-017-9533-5
Pennacchia, J. M., Østvik, J., Dutia, I., Walsh, M., Coghill, D., Granlund, M. & Imms, C. (2025). Assessing mental health of people with complex communication needs: A systematic review. Journal of Communication Disorders, 113, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2025.10649
Soto, G., & Starowicz, R. (2016). Narrative Development and Aided Communication. In Martine M. Smith & J. Murray (Eds.), The Silent Partner?: Language, Interaction and Aided Communication (pp. 141-158). J&R Press.
