“Communication is key in expressing knowledge and intelligence.”
It is truly amazing to see how people transform over time. Typically, a person is not the same person as they were ten years prior, especially when they have gone through puberty. The teenage and young adult years are a time of mental and physical growth, development, and new social opportunities. Such growth and new experiences have a great amount of influence on the beliefs, behaviors, and preferences of such individuals. For a child with a disability, this period of their life is especially very challenging. They are trying to figure out how to fit in with their peers while they have a disability is there for the world to see.
Teens and young adults will try everything in their power to be like their peers and “fit in”. Resistance is very prevalent in Alternative and Augmentative Communication users, especially in teens and young adults. Parents, speech-language pathologists, teachers, and other people who work to improve the lives of young people who use AAC often find themselves perplexed and exhausted by fighting with them to get them to use AAC. Such individuals often find themselves saying, “If AAC is such a powerful thing and has the potential to open so many doors to opportunities, why are teens and young adults so resistant to using it? Why don’t they just use it?” Well, let’s take a moment to step back. How would you feel if someone was trying to tell you how to communicate, especially when you do not have the proper skills, knowledge, and support to do so? You may get a glimpse of a fraction of the difficulties that teens and young adults face when they are exhibiting resistance to AAC.
In this presentation, I will answer the question of why resistance to AAC is present in teens and young adults and provide some strategies that parents and professionals can use to help them overcome such resistance.
I am currently a senior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign finishing my undergraduate degree in Communication. Post undergrad, “I plan on attending graduate school at the University of Illinois at Chicago to complete my assistive technology certification in order to enable myself to continue doing the work that I love so much as an AAC specialist, assistive technology specialist, and or consultant. As I prepare to leave my position at PRC-Saltillo as the product and service development intern, I am thrilled and very honored to be becoming a PRC-Saltillo ambassador and continue working for one of the greatest companies and with amazing people.”
For individuals with speech impairments, AAC can open so many doors to opportunities, success and independence. AAC has allowed me to achieve the amount of success that I have reached thus far and I cannot wait to see where it leads me next! Successful communication is the foundation of success in education, employment, relationships, and beyond!
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Communicators In Action