AAC Devices and Educator Support Strengthen Communication Skills for Students Across CPS

CHELSEA, MASS. – Students at Chelsea Public Schools are using Augmentative and Alternative Communication devices, commonly referred to as “AAC devices”, to aid in their language development and communication skills. 

Bryan and Ashley are two students who attend Chelsea High School who use these devices, which are similar to iPads. They recently sat down for an interview, incorporating both spoken language as well as responses utilizing their AAC device to respond and interact. 

The device is loaded with prompts and keywords that help students respond. When Ashley was asked about her favorite class, she smiled and said a jovial “Yeah!”. She then looked down at her tablet and selected the word “science”. Moments later, an audible response, “Science”, could be heard from the tablet. Ashley was even able to provide follow up information that she liked to do experiments while in science class too. 

For a student like Bryan, he has incorporated some of his personal interests into his AAC device. An avid soccer fan, he shared in the interview that his favorite player was Cristiano Ronaldo. Bryan was able to, with the aid of his tablet, ask the interviewer who their favorite soccer player was. 

For students like Ashley and Bryan, the use of the devices has led to significant development with their language skills.

“Having access to language immediately where it's not just auditory from staff, obviously staff are making it really accessible, but at the same time, having a way to express it obviously improves your comprehension at the same time,” commented Lexi Mazza, a Speech Language Pathologist for the school district. 

CPS staff have seen growth in a variety of areas for students including vocabulary and grammatical skills. Skills such as using plurals properly, present tense and using “-ing” verbs are just a few examples of areas in language development where students have grown. School staff are even seeing improvements in student test scores since they began using the devices. 

Awareness around students who use AAC devices is also growing around the district. At the Sokolowski School, grade-wide assemblies focused on AAC Awareness Month, which was in October, happened recently. Students engaged in a presentation that helped them better understand the many ways people communicate and the importance of inclusive communication. 

At the Wright Science & Technology Academy, students who use devices are part of a team who run the “Sip and Howl” Coffee Shop where staff members walk into a classroom transformed into a fully functioning coffee shop where students do it all from taking the orders to running the cashier and preparing the coffee for customers. 

Communication is key for students to thrive both at school and in the community. Both Bryan and Ashley have learned so much and can convey so much with the benefits of their AAC devices. Ashley can share about her favorite things to do on the weekends such as going to Chuck E. Cheese with her brother (the pizza was a particular favorite!). Bryan is comfortable walking into Dunkin and ordering his favorite items. He exudes passion when he talks about gym class and to his recent experiences playing on CHS’ new Unified Sports team.

Skills like this are fostered and developed at school through resources like AAC devices available to CPS students, and the dedicated staff members who work to teach grade-level material to students while ensuring that they have the skills to thrive when they leave Chelsea’s care. 

“I think I would just connect how important language is for independence and the necessity we have of supporting language development for kids to function in the community,” Mazza added. “I think that it's kind of our responsibility to build language as much as possible, in communication, because that's really what's going to support their independence.”

Through the dedication of CPS staff and the support of inclusive tools like AAC devices, students like Bryan and Ashley are developing their voices and using them to connect and learn. Their stories show that when students are empowered to communicate, the sky is the limit for what they can say and do.

 

Students Ashley (left) and Bryan (second from right) met with CPS Communications Director Michael Sullivan (right) to talk about how they use their AAC devices. They are pictured here with educator Lexi Mazza (second from left).

 

An example of the AAC devices used by students at Chelsea Public Schools