Approach to AAC

I am a PODD Trainer and my mentor is Linda Burkhart (the individual responsible for bringing PODD to the US) so my approach to AAC is necessarily influenced by these factors. I do not exclusively use PODD and have children with whom I work on other systems but my philosophical beliefs in terms of AAC intervention are based upon the PODD “AARCH” developed by Gayle Porter of Autonomy, Accessibility, Requirements, Competence, and Habits. Because so many of the children with whom I work have both visual and motor impairments, I prioritize the establishment of a reliable, robust means of communication and then address access to communication as a separate skill. I use both PODD books (various templates specifically selected and customized for the user) and dynamic display communication devices and specialize in working with users who require switch scanning as an access modality.

I approach my work from the perspective of presumed competence and know, with absolute certainty, that all children can and want to learn.