Resources to Support the Complex Communication Needs (CCN) Population
Complex Communication Needs (CCN)
Children and youth with complex communication needs (CCN) benefit from assistive technology and augmentative and alternative communication to support communication and language development. Students who have complex communication needs are unable to communicate effectively using speech alone. They and their communication partners may benefit from using alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) methods, either temporarily or permanently.
AAC systems of communication do not rely on speech. Children and youth who require AAC may have some speech but not enough to meet their daily needs. AAC systems may be used to augment existing communication skills or provide an alternative to speech.
These resources are intended to provide professional learning for professionals working with children and youth in the complex communication needs population.
Making the Environment Communicatively Accessible (Pt. 1)
Dr. von Tetzchner sees the development of AAC as a form of language development, although atypical. Inspite of the fact that it differs in many ways from typical language development, the development of alternative means of communication is not a deficit but an achievement that parallel typical forms of language development. It is important to investigate its the developmental course and how the child’s language environment may promote or hinder it. Only then it is possible to implement educational and other measures and construct an environment that is communicatively accessible and support the form of language the child who lacking the ability to speak can use in an optimal way. This webinar was time well spent with the person sometimes referred to as the Albert Einstein of the AAC World!
Length: 1:09:00