AAC at Work: Supporting Secondary School Students with Complex Needs in Early Community Work Experiences

Abstract

For many secondary students with complex needs, community-based work experiences are an important bridge between school, adulthood, employment, self-determination, and belonging. These experiences can provide opportunities to build communication, problem-solving, social connection, independence, and confidence. However, students who use AAC and assistive technology are too often given limited access to authentic work opportunities because of assumptions about productivity, communication, behavior, or support needs.

This session will provide a practical framework for designing inclusive early work experiences for students with complex communication and learning needs. Participants will explore how to identify communication opportunities within workplace routines, match assistive technology supports to job tasks, and design accessible materials that reduce barriers without lowering expectations.

The session will highlight tools and strategies such as visual schedules, task analysis, video modeling, picture-supported directions, accessible text, choice-making supports, job-specific communication boards, high-tech AAC systems, light-tech AAC backups, and environmental prompts. Examples will show how these supports can be embedded into common community work experiences such as stocking, sorting, food service preparation, clerical tasks, delivery routines, customer greetings, cleaning tasks, and hospitality-related jobs.

A key focus of the session will be building capacity beyond the school team. Participants will learn how to create employer-facing training materials that are clear, respectful, and easy to use. These may include short AAC orientation guides, one-page student communication profiles, workplace task supports, video models, visual cue cards, communication partner tips, and simple troubleshooting guides. The session will emphasize that community stakeholders do not need to become disability experts; they do need practical tools, respectful expectations, and an understanding of how to support communication access.

Participants will leave with a structure for planning, implementing, and evaluating AAC-supported work experiences. The session will address both immediate strategies and future-oriented practices that prepare students, educators, families, and employers to build more inclusive pathways to employment.

Aligned with the theme “AAC in Everyday Life: Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond,” this session centers AAC as a tool for authentic participation, not only in school, but also in the community and future workplace.